Meet me by the Rosemary
by Light in the Rain
Summary: Five friends, three missions, one end. They will always remember. They can never forget. [Threequel to The Trials of Light and Dark. Set during KH:CoM SoraxKairi, RikuxOC but not overly so, so don't get mad!]
1. Chapter 1

Kingdom Hearts: Meet Me by the Rosemary

A Light in the Rain production

Neki © Light of Heaven and Kitty Fetish

Reni Concept © Kitty Fetish

Reni © Black Rainy

Kingdom Hearts Characters and Concept © Square Enix and Disney

Final Fantasy Characters © Square Enix

Neki and Kixen's Song – Lullaby for a Stormy Night © Vienna Teng

All rights reserved.

Light: All right! Mom Beater is up and going!

Rainy: Mom Beater? Honestly?? What will our mom's think?

Light: Where did we go wrong?

Rainy: -thinks- True, good point.

Light: Yes, well…On to the story!!!

Rainy: Right, because we've already made our joke.

Light: Yeah, and now we're just being pesky authoresses

Rainy: Another good poi—

Light: SHUT UP ALREADY!!!

Rainy: Yeah, that.

Chapter 1

Bleary eyes blinked open, the sunlight blinding them for a moment, before they were shaded by a figure. Glowing amber eyes stared back before disappearing from the line of sight. Sitting up and blinking again, a young looking brunette with dark blue eyes glanced around her surroundings. Not too far off sat a rosette girl with piercing feline eyes sitting cross legged.

"What…What's going on?" Her eyes flew to the cloaked man standing with his arms crossed.

"Ah. Our final addition has awoken." She looked to the other girl, who seemed oddly familiar.

"Who are you people, what am I doing here?"

The girl looked at something out of her line of vision, then smirked, "We're Nobodies."

"Your name."

The girl frowned, "Ah, I don't have one yet. Neither do you. That's Roxas though." Her frown deepened, "He's special."

The brunette looked to wear the other girl pointed to find a boy with blonde bed head hair leaning on a tree, "Hey." She looked back at the cloaked figure.

"My name is not for you to know." Her eyes narrowed, not liking that answer one bit, "However, now that you are awake, I can name the two of you." She blinked as his eyes settled on her first, and the letters R-E-N-I spelt out a name in front of her.

"Reni?"

She gasped and the letters began to spin around her, stopping as a blinding light flashed, leaving a large X in front of a new name.

"Xinre…"

The man turned to the rosette, who stood up, brushing dirt and grass off of her blue green skirt. N-E-K-I appeared before her, then in the same fashion as Xinre, the girl got the name…

"Xanadu???" The girls honey colored eyes grew wide, "OH I DON'T THINK SO!" Roxas and Xinre coughed away their laughter, while the girl glared at the man, looking positively livid, "I will NOT be called that! It has nothing to do with my somebody!" He coughed an excuse, then the words whirled around again, only to end with Xanadu again, "SON OF A—"

"Why don't you think of a name?"

The three turned to face the quiet boy, "What?"

He avoided their gaze and repeated, "Choose your own name."

The cotton candy haired girl blinked a few times, then frowned, "I can't think of one."

"SEE?!? It's not me! It's all your somebody's fault!"

"HEY! Don't blame her for having an individual name"

"Individual my ass! That's just plain weird!"

"What's a somebody?"

Everyone stopped, then stared at the brunette. Finally, the older man sighed, "Xanadu—

"NOT MY NAME!"

"—You are to fill her in. Roxas, come with me." He opened a portal looking thing and Roxas stepped into it, followed by the man, which sealed it off. The two girls sat in silence until another portal opened and a man with unusual spiky red hair stepped from it.

"Yo."

The two raised their hands in greeting.

"I'm Axel. A-X-E-L Got it memorized."

"Do I have to spell it every time, or can I just call you Axel?"

Axel looked over at the girl in question, then bust out laughing, "DUDE! What is with your hair??!?" She idly brought a hand up and fingered a strand of her bright pink hair.

"I haven't a clue what it looks like…" He stopped laughing, then started up again, Xinre joining in as well.

"IT'S PINK!!!"

"You're one to talk Sonic."

"Who's that?"

"Haven't a clue."

"So…" Axel took a sweeping look at the two, "What are your names?"

The brunette raised her hand, waving it in the air, "Xinre." Axel nodded, the looked at the other, "And that's Xanadu." The redhead busted up laughing again, which resulted in Xinre leaping forward to keep the other from dismembering the poor lad.

"That just ain't right…" He sighed, the straightened up, "I'll name you. What's your somebody's name?"

"Neki."

"Okaaay… Weird hair and a weird somebody…" He brought his hand to his chin, stroking it idly as he thought, "AH!" Kixen! 'Cause Kixen kicks 'em!" Kixen and Xinre gaped openly at the male, "What?"

"Love the name, but the catchphrase is a bit on the lame side…"

Xinre nodded, "I have to agree."

Axel rolled his eyes, "Whatever… Let's just get the two of you set up back home."

"Home?" the girls chorused.

He opened a portal, motioning for them to enter, "The World That Never Was."

- - - - -

Neki arched her back then leaned forward, her feet dangling dangerously off the ledge to the city below.

"Ne, Riku…"

She pictured him turning around, a smile on his face.

"Do you see it too?"

Reflected in her eyes was the pale crescent moon, giving her the same ethereal glow of that night.

"I wonder…"

Reni's blonde hair flashed past her vision, revealing the girl standing next to Sora, Kairi, and Riku.

"Do we all see it?"

Riku extended his hand, but she knew that this time she couldn't grasp it.

"Do we all see the same moon floating in the same sky?"

- - - - -

Sora sat up, blinking and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "Reni?" Mumbling next to him caused the boy to turn his head.

"Few more minutes Yuffie, I want to beat Neki's record."

He snorted and shoved the girl, "Neki's record for what?"

Sitting up herself, the blonde grinned, "For sleeping in." Sora grinned back.

"She was pretty good at the, no?"

Glancing around, Reni solicited, "What's up?"

Sora followed suit and looked around the empty plan, "Couldn't sleep." His blue eyes fixing on Reni's, he asked, "You think she'll be alright?"

Scoffing, Reni stood up, stretching her back, "Of course! She's the best there is when it comes to making it out of situations on top."

Standing as well, the brunette looked to the path, "True…" He began down the trail, stepping idly as he listed to Reni's footsteps fall in behind him, "I wonder where it is she has to go to…What she's doing, you know?" He couldn't see, but she nodded anyway.

"You think we'll be able to get back home?" Reni ran to catch up with him, peering up at his face. Sora looked at her, blinking quiet a few times, he stopped walking and nodded. Smiling, Reni continued, "Of course! Right? You did promise your girly-friend after all."

"She's not my—"

"DENIAL!"

He flushed a few shades and turned away from her, "Daww!!! Sora's embarrassed!" Mock sighing, she threw her hands to the sides, palms up in a shrugging motion, "You and Riku both. I swear." He gave her a look, causing her to grin from ear to ear.

"You know…" instantaneously the mood was sobered, "Now that I think about it, I can't quit recall why Kairi and I didn't want the two of you to come…"

Reni placed a finger to her lips, "Was it because we are exceedingly annoying?"

"That was my excuse." Reni snorted a laugh, and Sora chuckled, "But really! I can't think why…"

Reni sighed, sobering the mood yet again, "Maybe it was because you liked things before Neki and I came… A trio is better – and easier to say – then quintet." Pausing for a brief second while Sora opened his mouth to retort, she said, "No matter how much fun you and Neki think that word is."

Sora snorted a laugh, then looked up into the sky, his eyes flicking from one star to the next, landing on the moon.

"Ahead lies something you need…"

Sora and Reni turned on the spot, a crossing of three roads. Nothing being there, they faced forward again, only to find a cloaked form.

"But to claim it, you must lose something dear."

Again the cloaked for disappeared, leaving just one path leading forward.

Reni scowled furiously, "I guess that's the way we go."

The boy nodded, "Guess so."

- - - - -

It was a rather odd looking castle, with turrets and ledges made out of neat, straight lines, and pointy. Green roofs, and bronze walls, Reni was simply drawn to it, walking far more steps then taken by Sora.

Glancing back at him, she asked, "We go in?"

He nodded, lips set in a frown, "In we go."

Donald huddled behind Goofy, who was hiding behind Reni, "Are you sure?" Reni could only stare at the two with grim determination.

"We go in, with or without you." The two grimaced, then nodded. The four took deep breaths, then pushed the door open. Blinded by the sudden light, they threw their hands up, shielding their eyes. Sora opened his first, blinking a few times to adjust to the whiteness of the walls, floor, and just about everything.

"Somebody uses a lot of bleach."

"Not the time Reni."

"I knew that."

They stepped forward, to the cloaked figured that awaited them. Arms crossed, and hood pulled far enough to cover the whole face in black, the deep voice rumbled through Reni's nerves, "Welcome to our castle." The group stiffened, "Have no fear. You're in no danger here. I will not hurt you." And as if reading the duck's mind added, "I'm not a Heartless, and your magic won't work."

"Eh?" Reni looked perplexed, "Why not?"

"As soon as you stepped foot into this castle you began to forget."

"Forget what?"

"Your memories."

Silence filled the hallway.

"Forget what?"

Sora hung his head in shame as Goofy took the lead and explained, "Reni does that well enough on her own, please don't encourage her."

"…"

Donald coughed, "Aside from Reni's increasing stupidity—"

"HEY!"

"—what else is there to know?"

The cloaked man seemed to regain his composure, "In this place, to lose is to find and to find is to lose."

"Will I be able to learn a new language?!"

Everyone stopped.

"Yeah…" Reni shrugged, "Sora's stupid too."

"HEY! Wait, yeah…"

"PAY ATTENTION!" He coughed, "In this place, to lose is to find and to find is to lose."

"You just said that." Sora pointed out.

"I just figured that if I didn't repeat it you'd be whining to me about it later."

Reni put her hand on her hip, "But if to lose is to find and find is to lose, then won't we forget anyway?"

Goofy nodded and faced the girl, "I think he just likes to hear his voice."

"What a narcissistic guy, ain't he."

"I'M RIGHT HERE!!!" _Friggin' idiots…_ Coughing again, he continued, "That is the way of Castle Oblivion."

- - - - -

Riku set his face in a grim line. Cyan clashed with amber, and a low growl escaped from his throat, echoing around the empty bleach white hallway.

"Ansem."

"Boy."

He ignored the lack of actual name, instead tilting his head to the side and glaring harder at the older man, "Why the hell are you still alive?"

"That matters not," Replied Ansem. Riku stepped forward menacingly, "Calm yourself. I'm merely here to collect my bounty."

"What?"

"You reek."

"What?!"

He rolled his eyes at the boy's outburst, "Of darkness you stupid—Dear god…"

Riku had lifted his shirt up, smelling himself to see if Ansem was being truthful. Sighing, the older of the two threw something at him, getting a resounding 'thunk' when it contacted with Riku's head.

"What?"

Ansem pinched the bridge of his nose, "Deep breath; he's the perfect vessel…" He cleared his throat and addressed Riku, "It's a card, your key for moving about the castle?"

"What?"

Again he pinched his nose, breathing deeply to keep from decapitating the boy, "This is Castle Oblivion." Riku nodded.

He bent down, picking up the perpetrator of his slightly bleeding forehead, "A card huh?" His face still faced the item, but his eyes flicked upward to Ansem's, "What's the catch?"

Ansem smiled, eyes glinting, "No catch. Jus when you give in to the darkness gain, I get your body."

The card fell to the floor, "No can do, sorry, don't think so."

"We'll make it a bet, "Riku's ears visibly perked up, "You lose, I get your body. You win, I leave you alone."

"And?"

"And your girlfriend."

Riku coughed, "And?"

"And the key bearer."

"And?"

"And your sister."

"And?"

"…and their companions?"

"And?"

"What else?!" Ansem yelled, arms raised to the ceiling.

"I don't know. Just wanted to see what else I could get," Riku blinked and shrugged, picking the card back up, "Alright, you're on."

Ansem blinked and shrugged as well, lowering his previously raised arms to his sides, "Oh…Okay…" He cleared his throat again, and lifted his hand palm up towards Riku; a gesture he knew all too well.

Riku took a step back out of habit, watching the glow of darkness surround him, idly staring at his hands and torso. As the green glow faded, the teen scowled, "What did you do this time?"

He chuckled, "I gave your heart another taste of darkness."

"What?!?"

"What!?!" Ansem mocked, "You know you can be quite annoying if you choose to be…" Riku grinned in a fashion similar to a certain blonde, "Anyway, find the fountain. Some you miss—"

Riku was already gone.

- - - - -

Neki smiled, opening the door to find a fire already in the fireplace of her living room, "Mickey…" she sighed, throwing her newly acquired bag of 'tricks,' as the mouse had put it, on the floor next to the small burgundy loveseat. She ran her fingers over the titles of books that lined the bookshelves built into the walls. She turned her head in the direction of soft music lofting from the kitchen, where she found a small stereo playing. Switching it off, she glanced around the kitchen, squealing and letting an ear-to-ear grin cover her face.

"AN ISLAND!"

Not a sandy island, but a kitchen island. Similar to the one back home. Where she'd sit and listen to Sumiko talk about Sora when he was a baby, or make her breakfast, or do arts and crafts with Kairi, Selphie and Reni. Taking a running leap, she slid onto the counter, taking in the rest of the kitchen. She had a fridge, a gas stove, with cabinets lining the walls. Lots of space… She was going to need to find lots of things to put in them.

In the adjoining dining room was a small table, with four chairs around it. Neki blinked, "That'd be perfect for the four of us…" She shook her head and trudged back into the living room, finally noticing the stairs, and went up them to find a small hallway leading to a bathroom and a bedroom. The bed was about the same size as Riku's back home, with sheets and blankets of alternating black, white, and red stripes of different sizes. There was a dresser, and a closet with sliding mirror doors. Other then that it was empty.

But it was perfect…

She smiled and belly flopped onto the bed, reveling in the soft sheets, "Empty… but perfect."

- - - - -

Reni rolled her eyes, saying in a sarcastic manner she learned from Neki who learned from Yuffie, who picked it up from Cid, "Nooo…We're just talking to an empty hallway. Isn't that right Sora?" The man huffed, causing the girl's eye to twitch, mumbling under her breath, "Huston, we have a she-man…"

Sora, catching on and taking the role of Neki, replied normally, "No, that's not right. Obviously, we've been talking amongst ourselves!"

"Yes," Reni agreed, still sarcastic, "And we all magically know that in Castle Oblivion," she cast a glance in the hooded man's direction, "to lose is to find and to find is to lose." Donald and Goofy hid their smirks, while Sora nodded in a half-assed somber manner.

"Alright, look. If you four aren't going to take me seriously I'll friggin' leave you to fend for yourselves."

"Won't you end up doing that anyway," question Donald, arms crossed. The air crackled with animosity, and Reni was beginning to go into ADHD mode. She blinked, stepping around the hooded man and squealing happily.

"I found a door!" Turning on her heel, she saw a flash of angry eyes, "What's your face look like? I wonder if Neki's going to have enough pudding," Sora shuddered, "CHEESECAKE!" The males raised their eyebrows, exchanged looks and shrugged – all in unison too, "Creepy… I want some pumpkin seeds. The ceiling's got lines on it—"

"Right, well," here he threw something at Sora, which he caught and saw was a card, "That is your right of passage for Castle Oblivion."

"Where to lose is to find and to find is to lose," the group mocked.

He leveled them with dangerous glares, "That's it. You're on your own. No more hints. No more help from Marly."

Reni's attention was brought back to the situation at hand, "Come again?"

He paused in what they assumed to be a blinking movement, before portaling out of the room.

"Marly?!" 

- - - - -

The first thing their eyes saw as the portal opened up in front of them was rain; dreary, ongoing, cold rain. The girls blinked as drops landed on spots of exposed skin. Xinre bit the inside of her cheek to keep from squealing, as it was something against her inbred nature. Kixen blinked bleary, staring up at the sky and closing her eyes to enjoy only to feel her arm being tugged by leathered hands – Axel's hands.

Xinre watched her companion intently, her odd behavior towards the weather bemusing the brunette, "It's like you've never seen the rain before," commented Axel, who gave the two a wry grin.

Kixen shook off his grip and shook off her thoughts, "Not first hand." She smiled, a ghost of a smile, and spun, delighted in the sensation, "This is wonderful. Better then Hollow Bastion." The three blinked, and Kixen stopped spinning – choosing instead to skip gleefully down the street, lyrics jumping from the unknown abyss of her mind.

_Little child, be not afraid_

_the rain pounds harshly against the glass  
like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger  
I am here tonight_

_little child, be not afraid  
the thunder explodes and lightning flash  
illuminates your tear-stained face  
I am here tonight_

Neki's heart leapt, her voice jumping into song as the sky disappeared with the flash of the lightning. The window was cold, the complete opposite of her blistering hot forehead. The eyes staring back at her were the same color – deep toned brown edged in green – but pink locks fell in front of her face. She blew it off as a trick of the lighting and her fever, but the scowl that stared back at her empty features sent her into shock.

She brushed back her hair, closing her eyes again and placing a hand on the cool glass, knowing that the glowering figure in it was mimicking her actions. Her melodious voice filling the empty space behind her and the empty ache in her heart.

_and someday you'll know  
that nature is so  
the same rain that draws you near me  
falls on rivers and land  
on forests and sand  
makes the beautiful world that you'll see  
in the morning_

_little child, be not afraid  
though storm clouds mask your beloved moon  
and its candlelight beams, still keep pleasant dreams  
I am here tonight_

Leaning against the window, her amber eyes scanned the room, pausing to smile and give a thankful nod to Axel, who was seated on what would be her bed. He nodded back, closing his eyes as she continued with the song, her lips parting to draw a breath.

Xinre lounged on her bed, fighting to stay awake but failing to the soothing tone that was embedded in Kixen's voice and the song. Blue eyes blinked, wondering for a brief moment how the rosette even knew the song in the first place, but letting the thought slip through her fingers at the next verse.

_little child, be not afraid  
though wind makes creatures of our trees  
and their branches to hands, they're not real, understand  
and I am here tonight_

_for you know, once even I was a  
little child, and I was afraid  
but a gentle someone always came  
to dry all my tears, trade sweet sleep for fears  
and to give a kiss goodnight_

She sank to her knees, singing despite the raking sobs jumbling her words; the memory of stroking Sora's hair on one of their rare good days, singing him to sleep as Reni snuggled into her side, Kairi in her other, and Riku's chest pressed against her back. The five of them spending the night at her house, together and happy. Her hand slid down the glass, leaving the lines of her fingers lingering on the surface.

Neki took a breath, staring teary eyed out at the peaceful slumbering new city. The thought of them has evaded her until now, in the dark of night – alone for the very first time in her entire life. So alone… So cold…

Turning away, she couldn't bear the sight any longer, she began to sing again, her voice trembling, but holding strong.

_well now I am grown  
and these years have shown  
that rain's a part of how life goes  
but it's dark and it's late  
so I'll hold you and wait  
'til your frightened eyes do close_

_and I hope that you'll know..._

_that nature is so  
the same rain that draws you near me  
falls on rivers and land  
on forests and sand  
makes the beautiful world that you'll see  
in the morning_

_everything's fine in the morning  
the rain'll be gone in the morning  
but I'll still be here in the morning_

The melting of another voice, hauntingly similar, did not go unnoticed, and the two opened their closed eyes, hands on the glass, looking out, searching fruitlessly for the other. Both knowing full well, that somewhere, both near and far away, was someone who needed the other, desperately, unconsciously searching for the missing half to a locket, the final piece to a puzzle. The sound of the rain hitting the roof began to take its toll on the singers, gently lulling them to sleep.

- - - - -

Riku skidded to a halt, the image of the fountain came into focus, and his breath caught in his throat.

The blond hair was unmistakable, and the honey eyes glinted gleefully at him as she turned around. His voice wouldn't work, and it wasn't until she smiled that he took a breath, letting it out in a frail, "Neki…"

She hooked her hair behind her ear, shifting her weight and facing him; she had been admiring the molding in the fountain, tracing it with her finger. Beckoning him over, she blinked quickly at the kiss to her cheek, "Riku, that wasn't—"

"That was very necessary," he interrupted, grabbing her hands in his own, "God was it necessary." Her eyes fell, the smile going with it, "Neki?"

"Riku... This is very important," here she removed her hands, placing them in her lap, "The darkness will try to tempt you. It runs thick in the veins of this place, and inexplicable power keeping this place here. It will play off your emotions, and your feelings, and most of all," a pause to glace at the doorway, away from his questioning gaze, "your memories." He blinked and stood up.

"What?"

She only stared at the archway, the hallway that would lead him to his next destination, "I'm not really here." His eyes narrowed, "I'm an image of your memory, created by the castle, by the girl, to warn you of the dangers." She finally turned to him, and he saw the emptiness in her eyes, the void that replaced the love he knew should be there, "Once you leave this place, you will be in the castle's territory, and there's nothing she can do to stop what must be done."

"What has to be done?"

"You must forget." Her features fell, and the replica of Neki rubbed her arm awkwardly, the clarity of her lines faded, "My time is up, another memory approaches, and I cannot stay. Soon they will know, and she will be in trouble. The girl is his only hope, I cannot have her in danger," she looked at him, the brown eyes pleading, "I'm sorry to disappoint."

He smiled at her, "At least I got to see her face once more."

"You will see her again."

"...Yeah..."

- - - - -

Reni stood, her sides aching and her head swimming, "Who in their right mind would name their child Marly?! No wonder he's here in this shady place."

"Speaking of shady," everyone's attention was brought down to their littlest member; Jiminy, "Something about what he said is setting off warning bells… I don't know, but something's fishy." He paused, thinking hard, "You began to forget? To lose is to find, and to find is to lose?"

Sora nodded, "I know, I feel the same… But as soon as I saw this place…" He glanced at the card in his hand, the image of Tranverse Town printed in glossy ink on the front, with the Heartless insignia on the back, "I knew… I just knew we'd find something here."

"Really?" Reni looked over at Goofy, "Me too!"

Donald chirped in, "Me too!"

"I hate to admit it, but I too felt it…"

The males looked over at Reni, who had gone back to inspecting the large ornate door. She said nothing at first, then quietly, she murmured, "I could just feel them." Reni turned to face them, quickly, urgently, rashly, "But if we don't go in," her hand glided on the smooth surface, fingers slipping into the grooves, "we might never find out what that is! It could be Neki, Riku, the King, anybody! Anything!" She looked straight at Sora, "So fearless leader, what are your orders?"

Sora took in the room, twisting to stare at the entrance, now firmly sealed. His eyes scanned the faces of his comrades; the mal tempered Donald, the 'not-all-there' Goofy, the always thinking Jiminy, the confusing Reni. The conviction swelled in his eyes, mirrored in that of Reni's, "Yeah." He strode up to the door, latching on the handles and wrenching them open, "Let's go."

Together they walked in.

"To find the King and Riku."

Only Reni looked back.

- - - - -

Light: That took longer than necessary…

Rainy: You're telling me! I've been waiting for my turn forever!!!

Light: I know I know!! So to make up for it, I wrote a little mini-scene for everyone! –grins- think of it as a KH2 spoiler for the fic!!

Rainy: Spoiler? –interested-

Light: Yeah! So without further ado…

**I'm Ready to Fall**

His voice was gentle; soft as not to scare the poor girl who he'd come to care so much for. The lapse in their relationship had caused him to ask the questions. He had known it was there, but not why, not since when, not how he could manage. He had thrown away queries for that of a greater purpose. It was with that purpose that he spoke to her, to appease his appearance, to make her understand – he had to. _For her._

"Neki listen to me…"

She didn't want to hear it, her mind blocked out the smooth rumble, the memory of that voice telling her sweet dreams before slipping into the dark abyss to wake up with an arrow in her heart. She couldn't take it. It wasn't the gruff but comforting sound she had known all those years, the voice that plague her memory while she crossed the street holding the hand of a stranger. _Only him._

"This isn't real."

It was. As he inched forward, she stood her ground, ears covered, eyes shut. The world she was seeing wasn't real, it couldn't be. It defied everything that she had been taught, all that she had learned. The cyan eyes were not cyan, the skin was too tan. He was too tall, she didn't fit into his arm like she had before, melding perfectly into the crooks of his arm, her breath leaving shivers down his neck.

The hood was slipped back, and her ears perceived an intake of breath, her eyes opening to see her cover draped down her back, hanging limply. Her eyes found his, watering as she was received with the cold calculating eyes of a monster, not the cool eyes of her beloved. His hand reached for her hair, deciding against it at the last second, but not removing it from the hair, leaving it hovering there.

She couldn't stand it. Pushing his chest, she caused him to step back, his face expressionless, only staring at his hand, where the hair had been a few centimeters away. She brushed back her bangs, her eyes darting around the empty room. She knew what he would say, he would ask why, and she would tell him. It was just a matter of how long he would take to get over the shock.

"Neki…"

"I cut it."

He paused, mulling over what to say in response. He liked it? Not particularly. Her long hair had framed her face, giving her angelic qualities that he loved. The short hair ended at the nape of her neck, showing the faint scars that ran along her neck and chest in flame like patterns.

It was different? That was for sure, and he was certain she didn't need him telling her what she already knew; she always hated that, nicknaming him Captain Obvious and Sora his sidekick, Evidently Boy.

"I…Why?"

"Because."

He glared, not liking her dodging the subject, "But why?" Her eyes became unfocused, drifting off to someplace and sometime he didn't know. He waited patiently as here eyes began to water, though she did not cry, "Neki?"

"I needed to fall."

_E n d_

Rainy: I love you.

Light: I know.

Rainy: OFF TO WRITE MY CHAPTER!!! –under breath- Finally.

Light: You know what?! YOU write with a killer bad case of writer's block, okay? THEN you can say that!

Rainy: -runs off to write-

Next chapter written by: Black Rainy

Read and Review like all the good little children do!


	2. Chapter 2

Kingdom Hearts: Meet Me by the Rosemary

A Light in the Rain production

Neki © Light of Heaven and Kitty Fetish

Reni Concept © Kitty Fetish

Reni © Black Rainy

Kingdom Hearts Characters and Concept © Square Enix and Disney

Final Fantasy Characters © Square Enix

All rights reserved.

Rainy: I make a really Blonde Roxas…

Light: What? In the chapter?

Rainy: No, as a cosplayer…I'm cosplaying as him this year. Me and my sis were calling each other Sora and Roxas on the way home from school today (she's cosplaying as Sora) and she said something about STDs, and started laughing and calling me blonde when I asked what an STD was.

Light: …DO you know what an STD is?

Rainy: …no…

Light: **::sigh::** Sexually—

Rainy: OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Light: Write.

Rainy: Haha, that rhymes—Light, Write…haha!

Note: Xinre has a jacket in here that is a Black Quilted Ski Vest. Don't know what it looks like? Google it. The one from Overstock .com is extremely close.

**- - -**

Meet Me By The Rosemary

Chapter 2

"So we're not members?" Xinre asked Axel bluntly. She was disappointed—the Organization was looking like a good cause to fight for and be a part of.

"No," Axel flicked a pesky red lock from his face. Shifting his weight to his left foot, he leaned against the wall. "The Superior, Xemnas, doesn't believe that Kixen's Chaos and your Control are actual elements. Nor does he believe you'd be any good to the Organization."

"That is NOT cool!" Kixen interrupted while angrily throwing her hands up in the air. "Of course they're elements! Hell, one member has the element of space!" Kixen pouted at Axel. "Can't you do something? We wanna find our hearts too!"

"Hey, I was fightin' for both of you, I really was!" Axel defended himself, arching an eyebrow at the pink-haired girl. "The most I got you two was the ability to assist the Organization, like affiliates. Until we got something for you to do, you can just hang out around the Dark City or maybe even the Organization's headquarters."

Kixen made a face and crossed her arms over her chest.. "Still not the same…and why do we have to stay in this big giant building anyhow? It's not that fabulous."

"Be glad I could convince Xemnas to let you stay in Memory Skyscraper." Axel said darkly, his green eyes glittering. "He was talking about throwing you two in the Underworld and locking you in. You may not know what the Underworld is, but trust me…s'not pretty."

A small silence echoed loudly between the three.

Xinre finally spoke. "Can we get some coats? It's freezing and I'm wearing less than both of you."

"Not an Organization coat, but I could probably find a spare one to give you." Axel replied, lazily pushing off the wall and starting to walk down the hallway they were in. Kixen however stopped right in front of him, halting him from moving further.

"How come we can't be part of the Organization?! That element thing is bogus—I know something is up!"

Axel closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as if annoyed. Then he took a deep breath in, and let it out slowly. He finally looked deep into her eyes with a somber expression.

"If you find your heart…you're going to disappear—your heart is in your Somebody, and your Somebody is still alive." He twisted his body around and stared at the silent Xinre. "Same goes for you, kiddo." Axel turned back to Kixen. "It'll happen to Roxas too, sadly…you three come in close contact with your Somebodies: you gone, kapoof, nothing left. Because of that, you are worthless to the Organization."

Kixen's jaw dropped. "Worthless?!" She was quite offended.

"But what about Roxas?" Xinre asked suddenly, causing the other two to jump in surprise. "I mean, if the same will happen to him, then how come he's a part of the Organization? Isn't he worthless too?"

"Roxas is special!" Axel snapped angrily, as if he was a little kid.

Xinre didn't stop. Walking up so she was beside Axel, she asked, "Why's he so special?"

"He just is!" Axel glared at the girl, huffing a tad. "Now, come on, do you want a coat or not?!"

"Coat please." Xinre said simply while taking a step behind Axel. She seemed unaffected by Axel's angry outburst. Grumbling, Kixen linked arms with Xinre and fell into a rhythmic step with the girl.

**- - -**

"Whaaaaaaaaaaat?!" Sora's eyes were wide and he was basically doing a weird jumpy dance while looking at his surroundings. "How are we in TRAVERSE TOWN?!"

"AHHH!" Reni was making weird squeaky, scream-y sounds out of confusion, taking jerky steps this way and that.

"…guys, the card you used had a picture of Traverse Town on it." Donald stated bluntly, putting his feathery hands on his duck-hips…if ducks have hips…do they? They must if he puts his hands on his hips a lot…or would it be his tummy sides above his legs? Aren't those hips? The world may never know.

Welcome to the rambling thought that is Reni/Rainy.

"Do ducks have hips?" Reni asked kinda stupidly, staring at Donald. Sora and she had stopped moving.

Donald stared back at her. "…yes, Reni…yes we do…"

"How does using a card with a picture of Traverse Town on it have anything to do with suddenly ending up in Traverse Town itself?" Sora interrupted.

"It's probably something like a key," Goofy pondered aloud. "The doors in this castle might go off of information in the card and then create the world!" Donald opened his mouth-bill-thing to point out flaws in Goofy's theory, but he couldn't find one, and closed it unhappily. He had even raised a finger on this occasion.

Sora sighed with a big smile. "…Traverse Town…it's been a while since I was here last." He turned towards his friends, still smiling. "This is the first other world I've been to—same for Reni." Reni coughed a little, but other than that did nothing except avoid everyone's eyes.

"And this is where we met Sora and Reni!" Donald stated while beaming at the said two.

"Ahhh, I remember our meeting it like it was just yesterday…" Goofy looked up, reminiscing. "We were all fighting over the cheapest sweater at that sale…"

Donald nodded, "Uh-huh…wait a minute…" He frowned. "Wait, no! No! That's not how we met!" Glaring at Goofy, Donald continued. "We were sent to find our missing King and somebody with a Key. Our search brought us here and we found that somebody with a Key—Sora! And Sora was friends with Reni so we met her and we all set off together!"

Goofy blinked a bit, looked up at the sky, then back at Donald. Suddenly he smiled, "Oh, that's right! Ah-hyuck!"

"Man, can't believe you forgot!" Donald smacked his arm sharply with a glare. He was about to say more, but there was a strange clanging sound from somewhere above. Everyone jerked and instantly began searching the area for the source.

Sora summoned his keyblade. He laughed hoarsely, smiling determinedly. "Maybe our friends are gonna throw a surprise welcome back party for us, heh."

"That's not funny Sora!" Donald scolded—but right as he said Sora's name, Heartless, big and small, dropped in from above.

The group instantly when into offensive action, attacking furiously. However, no matter how many times Sora slashed, Donald cast, Goofy smashed, and Reni...shot…darnit, couldn't find a good archer attack that rhymed…anyways…they couldn't win! It was like they had just learned how to fight only a few seconds ago!

"Argh!" Sora yelped as a shadow heartless slashed his arm. "What the?! How come we defeated Ansem, yet now we can't even defeat shadow heartless?! OH!" Sora cried out when his keyblade was suddenly ripped viciously from his grasp, flying through the air and landing in front of a pair of black leather boots.

"I don't remember…" The familiar man wearing the boots began. He wielded a large sword with a gun barrel on it. "…_ever_ inviting you to this town, heartless." He said simply. Then, with one powerful swing of his unique blade, three-fourths of the heartless disappeared into dark smoke, and the rest chickened out, leaving. Sora and his friends were awestruck.

The man picked up the keyblade at his feet and tossed it lazily to Sora. "Keep a strong hold on your sword." He turned to leave.

The stunned keybearer snapped out of it, and yelled joyously, "Leon!"

Leon, the man who had just saved them, turned around with a questioning look. "How do you know my name?"

Laughing in disbelief, Sora said, "Come on, quit playing around! We're friends!"

Leon raised an eyebrow and turned to leave again. "I've never seen any of you before in my life." Sora's jaw dropped. "You might wanna leave before more heartless come." Leon began to walk away when Sora grabbed the back of his sleeve.

"I missed you, dude!" Sora looked at Leon with a pathetic puppy dog look. "I can't believe you forgot us! We fought side by side for goodness sakes!"

Leon tried shaking Sora off, "Man, you're clingy…"

Pouting, Sora continued. "When we all split up, I was scared we'd never see you again, and you told me, 'we may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other'! And you forgot me! You forgot us!"

Leon's eyebrows furrowed. "Knock it off, Sora!" Then his eyes widened. "Wait…how do I know your name?" he began to tap his head as if that would magically reveal the answer.

"Easy, you were messing around!" Sora whined standing up straight.

"So you know his name, but you don't know him…" Another familiar voice said. The group turned to see Yuffie, grinning widely as usual. "Maybe Aerith was onto something afterall!"

"Yuffie!!" Reni squealed, jumping over to the girl.

"Reni!!" Yuffie squealed as well, and the two joined hands and jumped together. "I have no idea who you are, but I know your name!" Reni stopped jumping with a hurt look. "I know your guys's names too!" Yuffie yelled over to Donald and Goofy over Reni's shoulder. "Donald, Jiminy, and Goofy!"

"Let's get over to Cid and Aerith," Leon said while massaging his temples. "…_now._"

**- - -**

"Hey…Hey weirdo!" Xinre woke up to her body being violently shook. Opening her dark, murky blue eyes, she saw a pink-haired girl above her.

The events of yesterday—following Axel, meeting members, getting a cute jacket from Larxene, avoiding the superior—all came back to her instantly. "Good morning?" Xinre asked the girl, who she remembered was named Kixen.

"I dunno what time of day it is." Kixen sat on the edge of the bed. "Too dark—but you've been sleeping for a really long time. You conked out quickly…" She had a mischeivious grin. Xinre stared at the toothy smile and got suspicious.

Grabbing the front of her own shirt, Xinre peered underneath the shirt to check herself. Yup, bra still there, not in the freezer.

Kixen nearly fell off the bed when she howled with laughter. Xinre got a small smirk as she pushed the covers off her and went to a mirror. Nope, no drawings on her face. Kixen was crying from laughing so hard.

"Okay, I have not been pranked upon during the night, so what's with the face?" Xinre asked when she turned back to the laughing nobody.

It took a few moments for Kixen to compose herself, but when she did, she replied, "Nothing, I just wanted you to think I had pranked you!" She stood and dusted herself off. "Plus, I'm bored. I wanted you outta bed quickly."

Xinre arched an eyebrow. "Sooo…you need entertainment? Just go pour a bucket of water on Mr. Flurry of Dancing Flames—you'll get one hell of a show."

"I already tried, completely missed," Kixen chuckled. "It landed on Berserk Boy on accident. Then I ran screaming back here."

Xinre found herself giggling. "Berserk Boy…sounds like a superhero gone wrong."

Laughing again, Kixen studied Xinre. "Oh yeah, we're gonna be good friends." Xinre couldn't help but find herself smiling.

"How are you so sure?"

"Well," Kixen began, walking to the door. "It's either good friends or worst enemies, and good friends sounds nicer, huh?" She left the room. "Grab your jacket and follow!" Kixen yelled from the hallway.

Since she had nothing to do, Xinre peeled her arm warmers from her arms, pulled them onto her legs, and picked up her black quilted ski vest. Pulling it on, she stepped into the hallway and closed her door.

They had decided, for privacy purposes, to have separate rooms. Moving out of the one room they had previously been given had taken less than twenty minutes. The girls own practically nothing at the moment. Xinre was now two doors to the left of their old room, in a fairly small room—she liked the compactness. Kixen was five doors down to the right of Xinre's and on the other side of the hallway—she chose it for its enormous amount of space.

Xinre made her way to Kixen's door where Kixen was emerging holding a similar jacket to Xinre's. Only difference: no sleeves.

Popping her black and white striped arms through the vest holes, Kixen said, "Let's go back to the castle and bug people." She grinned widely.

Xinre poked her in the head. "Half the organization's not gonna be there—remember? They were sent to Castle Oblivion, including Axel."

Kixen shrugged. "Then we'll bug whoever's there." The two started to walk towards the stairs at the end of the hall.

"That doesn't give us much of a selection," Xinre argued a tad. "The only one who wouldn't try to rip our limbs off would be Demyx, and he's our friend."

Kixen made a tsk tsk sound. "Xinre, live on the wild side a bit. 'Sides, your skinny little twigs-for-legs need a little exercise." Xinre pouted at Kixen.

"I've only been alive for two days!"

"Early bird catches the worm!"

**- - -**

"It was nice seeing all of you again, really," Sora said while smiling at all his Traverse Town friends. "Thanks for everything."

Leon and his party looked at each other. "But we didn't really do anything!" Yuffie protested. Reni shook her head.

"Nah, you guys really did help," Reni beamed at them. "You helped train us to fight well again—now we kick ass! Er…Heartless…Heartlass?"

Sora laughed and turned to face everyone. "Well…we better get going…" He stared at them long and hard, his smile falling. "…I don't wanna go…I—"

"We may never meet again," Leon began with a soft smile. "But we'll never forget each other. That's what your heart is telling us."

Grinning, Sora nodded. Reni, Goofy, Donald, and Sora turned and walked away in search of the door back to Castle Oblivion.

**- - -**

Sora shielded his eyes from the bright white of the walls surrounding him once again. "Seriously, get a paint job! I'm amazed they haven't gone blind!" He rubbed desperately at his burned corneas.

Reni squinted while her eyes adjusted. "Whoa! Wait a tick, it's you again!" She pointed down the hallway at something the slightly-blinded keybearer couldn't see.

"So, did you enjoy meeting your memories?" a familiar voice drawled. Sora rubbed his eyes and was finally able to see the speaker was the cloaked man from before.

"Oh crap, it's mister 'to find is to lose and to lose is to find'!" Sora jumped in surprise. Donald and Goofy started to giggle and Reni smirked.

The cloaked man yelled in frustration. "If you guys are gonna start that again, I _swear_ I'll leave you to fend for yourself!"

Sora grinned widely. "Isn't that what you did last time?'

Reni held her head like she was dizzy, "Whooooaa…déjà vu…"

The man tensed up in anger, breathing heavily to restrain himself from throttling the group in front of him. Then he turned around and began mumbling to himself things like, "I don't have time for this" and "Relax, Mar, it's not worth it…"

Once the cloaked man regained his composure, he turned back to the group. Taking a deep breath before speaking, he said, "You must follow your hidden memory to find what is most important to you." His grin was barely visible from under his black hood. "But I'll need to make sure you're up to the task—"

"Ooh, sounds thrilling…" Another cloaked figure, much skinnier than the first, appeared from within a dark portal from one side of the room. Sora, Reni, Donald, and Goofy jumped in surprise. "Mind if I join in the game?"

The first cloaked man sighed deeply, and raised his hand to massage his temples. Another mutter of, "I don't have time for this" could faintly be heard. He turned back to the intruder and asked curtly, "What do you want?"

"I got bored," the second cloaked man drawled out lazily. He shifted his weight to his right foot saying, "what with you hogging the spotlight." A toothy grin was visible from under his hood.

The first man was irritable. "Maybe _you'd_ like to test him." He threw a card swiftly, and the other man caught it.

"Maybe I _would_." He taunted the first man while twirling the shiny, plastic card between his fingers. He leaned against the wall behind him lazily.

The first cloaked man glared long at the leaning man. "…fine, I'll go to check on things." He summoned up a dark portal, and stalked in. The portal dissolved a few seconds after he left.

There was a small silence as the group stared at the cloaked man that was left.

"Well, now it's _my_ show." Tossing the card up in the air and catching it, the man pushed off the wall. With his free hand, he pushed his hood back, revealing a mane of flame-red hair. "My name is Axel. A-X-E-L, got it memorized?" 'Axel' drawled out the last word with a sly grin.

"Uhhhh…" Sora hesitated. He was still coming out of the stupor he had fallen in while watching the previous argument. "Um, sure, I guess."

Axel's grin widened. "Well then…" He stepped out into the center of the room in a business-like matter. "…now that we're on a first-name basis…" In a small explosion of flames, two deadly-looking chakrams appeared in Axel's hands. He took a fighting stance. "…don't go dying on me!"

The startled group barely had time to ready themselves before Axel threw his flaming chakrams.

"Ready or not, HERE I COME!" Axel cackled swiftly running at the evasive group.

Sora ducked as a chakram zoomed straight at him. He tensed up when he felt the wind from the weapon on his head. "Ack! Watch out for those things!" Sora stood to attack—Axel had been running straight at him, right? …wait…where--?

"Pretty cool, huh?" Axel was behind Sora, catching the chakrams, a smug smile on his face. "Try dodging THIS!" Axel swiped at Sora, chakram in hand. Yelping, Sora leapt backwards and out of the way. Throwing chakram after chakram and attack after attack, Axel didn't stop.

Sora growled and swung as fast and as hard as he could at his attacker. He would've hit Axel too, if Axel hadn't warped to the end of the hallway, completely out of harm's way.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Donald yelled at the smirking Axel. Reni and Goofy chorused, "That's not fair!"

"Hey, take it easy," Axel laughed. "I'm just demonstrating my skills…oh, and anytime you guys wanna prove you're not worthless, be my guest." Axel threw another chakram and charged at Sora.

Jaw clenching, Reni aimed an arrow and let it fly straight at Axel's face.

Axel, who had been looking straight at Sora, suddenly jerked to face the flying arrow and knocked it to the side with a throw of his chakram. The arrow didn't hinder the path of the chakram, causing Reni to duck to avoid being decapitated. Raising an eyebrow at her, Axel laughed shortly with an air of 'are you kidding me?' "You're gonna have to do better than that, sweetie."

"Pay attention!" Sora shouted, unleashing a flurry of angry attacks at the red head. Axel was fast though, and with his remaining chakram, he blocked all the attacks.

"Not bad, not bad!" Axel laughed triumphantly. "Seems you're not _completely_ clueless!"

"C'mon! Let's cover for Sora!" Donald charged at Axel, screaming the entire way.

Axel retrieved his other chakram. With a smirk, he attacked Sora, pushing the boy out of the way, spun around, and threw a fiery chakram at Donald. The duck…well, ducked, but not low enough as his tail feathers were set ablaze.

Now Donald was running in circles with his behind on fire.

But the chakram wasn't done flying. It made a sharp arc, narrowly missed Goofy, split one of Reni's arrows in half, and returned to its owner.

Axel smirked as he watched Donald freaking out in the center of the room. "Now _this_ is what I call entertainment." He warped out of the way as a wobbily Sora started to attack again.

"Hey!" Sora panted, nearly falling over. "We're not done here yet!"

Reni looked around at the beat up group. Arching an eyebrow, she said, "Oh yes, we are quite done."

Grinning, Axel sharply threw a card at Sora, which hit the keybearer in the forehead. Sora fell down onto his butt.

"Congrats, kid," Axel's chakrams disappeared in mini-explosions of flame. He crossed his arms across his chest. "You passed. Use that card to go forward." Axel grinned an turned around.

"Hey…wait! What do you mean 'passed'?!" Sora struggled to stand up again, card in hand.

Axel turned his head. "You've lost sight of the light within the darkness, Sora." He replied over his shoulder. "You've forgotten _forgetting_. Are you sure you've thought long and hard about who and what's most important to you?"

Kairi, Riku, Neki, and the promise Sora had made to Kairi flashed across his mind automatically. With a strong, sure voice, Sora replied, "Yes." Axel grinned with raised eyebrows.

"Oh really?" The red head laughed softly. "Precious memories lie deep within our hearts, locked away…but you can reach yours, Sora." His eyes flashed. "Here is where I'd offer you a hint, but I'm running quite behind schedule. But I _will _leave you a warning." Axel summoned a dark portal in front of him. "When you awaken…" He stepped into the portal. "…you may no longer be _you_."

**- - -**

"Hrm…this Sora kid's memories are pretty intriguing…" A blonde woman in a black cloak just like Axel's sat on a couch, legs taking up all the room. Her hair was short with two locks of hair sticking up like antennas. "Why were you being so nice to him though, Axel?" She lazily flipped through a thick book. "_I _would've roughed him up a bit more."

Axel rolled his eyes at her. "Distasteful cruelty ain't my style, Larxene."

Larxene made a face at Axel. "So you're interested in the kid's heart…but why only Sora's? That stick of a girl with him also managed to—"

"Yeah, but the girl isn't the keybearer…and we all know how she managed to stay alive…"Axel sat down in a recliner across from Larxene. "…the Untouchable One helped her out there…besides, she didn't even really become a heartless that's how fast it happened."

Larxene smiled impishly. "I sense a deeper reason why you're so interested in Sora…"

"This has nothing to do with who you're thinking." Axel interrupted with a hard gaze. "It's Sora's heart I'm interested in—the heart chosen by the Keyblade. Nothing else. Commit it to memory." He crossed his legs. "Sora is literally the key. What makes his heart shine like that? What's locked away deep within it?"

"The heart is a mysterious thing, Axel." Another cloaked figure appeared in the room. He flipped his hood back from his face, revealing long, primrose colored hair. "Unlocking said mysteries is why we, the Organization, exist." He flipped his thick hair out of his face, and rose petals rained down to the floor.

Larxene shut her book with a sharp smack, and smirked at the newcomer. "So, Marluxia…how was _it_?"

Marluxia leaned against a bookcase. "No problem…everything's going according to plan."

Axel was the only who didn't smile.

**- - -**

**Rainy: Whew! Glad THAT'S finished.**

**Light: Yeah, finally. Oh, and I hate you for those 'sneaks' you gave me when writing the battle scene. Those weren't sneaks. Those were EVIL TEASERS.**

**Rainy: Hey, I let you read it when I was done, didn't I?**

**Light: EVIL.**

**Rainy: …**

Next Author To Write: Light of Heaven!

Review please!


	3. Chapter 3

Kingdom Hearts: Meet Me by the Rosemary

A Light in the Rain production

Neki and Kixen © Light of Heaven and Kitty Fetish

Reni Concept © Kitty Fetish

Reni © Black Rainy

Xinre © Black Rainy

Kingdom Hearts Characters and Concept © Square Enix and Disney

Final Fantasy Characters © Square Enix

All rights reserved.

Light : -deep bow- I'm a horrible writer…

Rainy: Oo….. Light?

Light: GRAAH! This took me longer than it should have… AGAIN! –doom and gloom-

Rainy: -pats head- There there… You can make it up by making this a really awesome chapter of Light proportions?

Light: -brightens- YES! –victory pose- I WILL SURVIVE!!! –another bow- Think of this as a late Christmas/New Years present, okay?!

Rainy: That's the spirit! –dances-

Light: Chapter time!!

Chapter 3:

Xinre jogged a little to catch up with the slightly taller girl. She scowled as she finally fell into step, "Damn you and your long strides." The rosette just grinned at her and kept walking, "So why are we visiting again?" They slowed a little more as they came to the entrance of the building, the sliding glass doors showing the gloomy atmosphere of the outside world.

"As much as I rather dislike Emo Boy, he does make for a good tap."

"You've been spying on Zexion?! Kixen that's just—"

Kixen started for the door, casting a smirk over her shoulder, "Just my style." The brunette rolled her eyes and started after her.

"What does Zexion have to do with what we're doing?" she inquired, liking schedules and plans to an unhealthy degree thanks to her element.

Kixen made a sharp U-turn, steering the two towards headquarters, "I heard that there are a few other quote on quote 'worthless' Nobodies. I want to see if we can't get Demyx talking about where they're keeping them. Then we can bust them out and make our own organization of Nobody's more powerful than the Org Thirteen!" She got a dreamy look in her eyes and Xinre tugged her in front of her so she wouldn't run into a pole, "Then we can do whatever we want!"

Xinre glanced at Kixen, pondering the idea of going against those who were already so powerful, "I don't know. It sounds a bit risky." Her stormy blue eyes fixed themselves on the towering form of the headquarters, "They could crush us under their thumb." Kixen's golden eyes glowed as she turned to face her new found friend, "What?"

"They won't," she shook her head with a wicked grin on her face, "We will be stronger than even Xemnas someday, I can feel it!" Kixen looked to the sky, feeling the gentle pitter on the light rain on her face. Xinre shook her head as well, but in disgust.

The brunette picked up their speed, her lips pursed, "Power will corrupt you my sister."

The cotton candy haired girl paused in her inner battle, "Sister?"

Careening to a stop, Xinre and Kixen exchanged quick glances, before continuing with their walk, as if the slight mishap had never occurred. They weren't sisters, they were barely even friends? Strange ties to each other maybe – it's very rare that you get two girls who seem connected to each other with balancing powers all in one go – but nothing more, right? Xinre shut her eyes tight, hoping that would send the dreadful thoughts of who her somebody could be away.

Now was not the time for such worries. Now was the time to convince her bubble gum haired friend that trying to go against the Organization was suicide. However, no such luck on that one.

- - - - -

She rubbed at her eyes, rolling over onto her side and pulling what blankets she could grab over her head, "Oh come on Mister Sun! A few more minutes won't kill anybody!!" The sentence being said, she abruptly sat up, remembering that this wasn't her sunflower yellow room on Destiny Island, nor was it her pitch black room with Riku. This was a brand new room, the softened cyan paining her heart a little.

Neki first noticed the large pouch on her dresser, then that she now had a desk in the corner across from her bed, a lamp sitting neatly plugged into the wall waiting to be used. A stack of papers, both lined and not, sat right in the middle, and next to the lamp was a small jar, filled completely with pencils and pens. She flung the covers off herself and started for it, pulling open the drawers to see markers and other necessities for an artist – charcoal, chalk, watercolors, graphite sticks – and a small clear plastic yellow sharpener.

"Mickey, you think of everything," the girl murmured to herself as she made her way past the bathroom accessible from the hallway, down the stairs and into the kitchen. The fire had long since been extinguished from the hearth, the room taking on a slight chill from the early hour. She opened up a few cupboards, a smile tugging her lips when she found a whole shelf full of her favorite oatmeal. As she remembered, it was the King who first made her try the stuff, maple and brown sugar oatmeal.

Taking a packet from the shelf, it took her a few tries to find where the bowls were hidden, then a bit longer to check all the drawers for her silverware, but surprisingly not long for her to find the tea and the tea kettle. She filled the kettle to the brim and set it on the stove, which she then turned on. In the meantime, she decided to take a shower. She grabbed her bag 'o tricks as she was going up - it was where her spare clothes were – and headed straight for the bathroom.

She shed her slept in clothes, pulling out a pair of light hip hugger jeans and a forest green tank top with lace at the bottom for a more feminine look, and set them on the counter. She took a few minutes to figure out how the shower system worked, then set the water to full blast hot before stepping in. Neki bit back a yelp as the scalding water made contact with her skin, and quickly grabbed her shampoo, washing her hair in a hasty manner as she waited for her skin to make itself immune to the temperature. When it had done so, she slowed down, taking her time as she tried to relax and figure out the days game plan.

Neki stepped out, her towel wrapped around her and the water dripping lazily from the shower head. She dried herself quickly and set about changing into her new clothes. She paused to look at herself in the mirror, absently rubbing at the claw like marks on her upper left arm. There was a burn mark on her right hip, from the middle of her side to the middle of her back. There were punctures on the back on her thighs, and on the sides; three on the left and one on the right . What intrigued her the most was the strange design on the skin where her heart was. It glimmered as she moved, a black upside down star in front of a red ring.

It unnerved her for some reason, and she quickly finished dressing herself and pulled her shoulder length blonde hair into pigtails stationed at the nape of her neck. Exiting the bathroom, Neki walked down the stairs and deposited her bag onto the couch, walking into the kitchen and flipping on the radio. She fiddled with the stations before deciding that nothing was any good and turned it back off. Taking the whistling kettle from the stove, she made her breakfast and sat down at the counter.

"The first thing to do is get used to the town," she told herself as she took a bite of the oatmeal and glanced at the door. Neki sighed and nursed her tea, "Sure… _Sounds _easy enough, but actually getting me out of the house is going to be the difficult part." Musing to herself the pros and cons, she finished her breakfast and deposited the dishes into the sink to be cleaned later.

Neki grabbed her bag and went to the door, opening it and stepping out into the late morning sun rays, "I guess the school would be first." She blinked, "My first school year without Riku to copy off of!" She barked a laugh and started down the street, "This should be interesting."

- - - - -

Reni slowed to a stop, her hand messing with a strand of hair. Out of habit, Sora slowed as well, causing the others to stop, "What's the matter Reni?" inquired Jiminy, having a feeling it was the same as he.

"Axel... Something about what he said just sets me off…" Jiminy hopped onto her shoulder and nodded, "The same huh…"

Sora rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in a defiant manner, "Come on, how in the worlds can I be any one but me?" Reni smiled at his use of worlds instead of just one, something he must have picked up from the blonde duo.

"Well yeah, but it's still always better to be careful. Safe then sorry, right?" Jiminy said as he hopped from Reni's shoulder to Sora's.

Goofy nodded and faced away from Reni, who looked unconvinced by Sora's smiling face, "Yeah, just about anything could happen in here. This uh… Castle Oblibbity… er, Oblostemy… Oble—"

"OBLIVION!" Donald shrieked, his eye twitching as his friend's lack of brain power.

"That's what I was going to say thank you!" Goofy huffed and turned around, missing Reni tackle Donald to keep him from bashing the soldier's head in.

Oblivious as usual, Sora turned around to Donald dusting off his clothes and Reni fixing her hair, both coughing lightly, "We'll be fine. Whatever they're cooking up, we can take it tenfold."

Reni rubbed at her thigh, "Well maybe not tenfold, but we can handle whatever they've got to throw at us…"

Goofy blinked, "Hey, remember that other castle we explored together? With all the doohickeys and contraptions and such?"

Every one paused to think.

"When was that?"

"What was I wearing?"

"Were you on anything?"

The two teens stopped to stare at Donald, who cleared his throat, "Oh for Pete's sake, can you remember the name?" Goofy shook his head.

"You sure you didn't make it up?" asked Sora, grinning coyly at his friend.

Goofy shuffled his feet, "I don't think so…"

Reni shrugged and paraded the group to the door, "Who cares! Let's go on to the next world room thinger place already!" Sora jumped up the stairs and shuffled through their cards; Agrabah, Halloween Town, Monstro, Wonderland, and Olympus Coliseum.

The blonde sighed at their choices. Any way they went there were going to be hard times for her here, that much she could already see. Her heart was aching to see Neki, but knowing that it would be an illusion dejected her. She placed her head on his shoulder and pointed at the only card that didn't have anything to do with Neki, "Let's do that one first! And Wonderland last, okay?"

He nodded, guessing it was one of those things he wouldn't get to know, and filed through the cards again, decided on Agrabah. He held it up to the door, and the group was enshrouded in a brilliant white light. Everyone threw up their arms, protecting their eyes from the light as they walked through the entrance to the next level.

- - - - -

Kixen leaned into the couch in Demyx's room, the Nobody leaning onto the arm of the couch. Xinre sat on the other side of the couch wearing a sour expression at how the conversation was progressing.

"But Demyx," Xinre said, looking up from her cup of hot chocolate the Mohawk clad boy had offered them, "Why would they do such a thing?" Her brows furrowed, "Locking up fellow Nobodies for such a stupid reason…"

Demyx shrugged, honestly not knowing the answer himself, "It's a touchy subject for a few of us. Luxord, Xigbar and myself were the ones sent to lock them up. Zexion," he paused and shuffled his feet, "Zexion was the one who gave us the order."

The pink haired Nobody growled, setting her drink by her feet, "So what? We all know that even if Zexion gave the orders, it was _his_ idea." She stood and walked over to the window over looking the city, "Demyx."

"No."

She turned to stare at him, "What?"

"I'm not telling you where," he stated, making a move to wash out his half full cup.

Starting for him, she was stopped by Xinre's hand, "Demyx, it's not like we're planning a revolt. We just want to meet others like us. The ones who've been rejected." She glanced at Kixen, who had gone back to the couch, "The real Nobodies."

Demyx sighed, rubbing the side of his face as he thought over his options, "I'm sorry. But that's not for you to know."

Kixen stood again, "What, members only?"

"Something like that."

She growled, her hair bristling as the air around her crackled. Xinre backed away from the energy rolling off of her companion – it wasn't settling with her well, "Fine then I'll just have to force it out of you." He was going to say something along the lines of 'with what power?' when he noticed her hand. Dark swirls of black and red enveloped the appendage, growing more luminescent with every second, with every angry breath. He blinked, and in place of the energy was an elegant whip; a single tip and a deep russet finish. She cracked it and charged, giving him barely enough time to summon his sitar.

Kixen spun, intending on kicking him in the gut. Demyx retaliated by raising his arm high, meaning to summon a water whip to challenge hers. Before either could, there's was a blinding white light and they were pulled to a halt by forces they couldn't see. When the light faded, Kixen saw that Demyx had been stopped by dogs of some sort. She herself had been bond by something, and a turn of her head showed her that it was Demyx's water clones. Xinre stood between them, her hands spread, a palm in either's face.

"Stop it."

The hounds and clones dissipated into the air, letting the two drop to the floor. Xinre's breath was labored but she remained standing.

"What… was that?"

A voice called to them from the doorway, "It seems you've awakened some powers."

"Axel!"

The said fiery red head grinned and folded his arms across his chest, "Well well well, look who's growing up without me!" Kixen pulled herself up to her full height, glaring at Demyx before making her way to Axel's side.

"Explain if you would." Xinre panted, clutching the pain in her side as she tried to catch her breath.

"It appears that the circumstances for the two of you to obtain powers are finally unvealed." Kixen gave him a 'do go on' look, poking and prodding his ego, "Kixen, when you are angry, when someone is angry at you. Where ever there is malice, you're powers will react accordingly. You 'feed' of the hateful energy of people's hearts so to speak." He inclined his head to the brunette in front of him, "And you, Xinre, receive powers when things get out of hand, when their not to your liking."

"Like when Kixen and I were about to fight?" Demyx asked, staggering to his feet. Axel nodded.

"Exactly like that. It wasn't something Xinre wanted to happen, and so she learned a new power."

Xinre flexed her hands, "And my power is?"

Axel grinned, making his way to the door with Kixen in tow, "You can control others abilities for a short amount of time." Poking the rosette in the side, he turned to her, "You learned to summon your weapon. Great form I might add." He winked to prove his point and she smacked his arm, "I've got to return…Kixen, be good." With that, a dark portal opened up and Axel disappeared inside of it, leaving the three to the tense atmosphere of the room.

Kixen stretched, giving Demyx a wave over her shoulder, "I'll be leaving first then." Xinre nodded and followed after she gave Demyx a wave of her own.

This would be the first of many battles.

- - - - -

"Hey Reni…"

The said blonde lowered her hand to glance over her shoulder at her brown haired companion, "What is it Sora? We've got to hurry and get out of here." Goofy pointed in front of her and she resumed her prior stance, "Oh!!"

"Someone's in trouble!" Donald added, "We better help them!"

Sora nodded and summoned the Keyblade as he ran, prepared to fight. Reni ran past with her bow drawn and eliminated a large group with a Blizzard packed arrow. She drew and fired at speeds he didn't know the blonde had, and in his staring, was almost tackled by a Shadow, "GAH!" He jumped and spun, bringing his weapon down and sliced it in half.

The girl scowled, "Keep your wits about you Sora!"

Donald was huffing as another group came from the floor, "They just keep coming! We can't do this forever!!"

The man who they'd gone to save frowned and slipped his sword into his sash, "Better see if the legends are true then!" He pulled something out in his swords placed and held it up, "Magic lamp, my first wish!! Get rid of these Heartless!" A puff of blue smoke exploded from the tip, and a figure flew up into the air from it, spinning the smoke away to reveal a blue ghost like figure.

"Did someone say 'wish'? Then stand back, kids, genie of the lamp coming through," 'Genie' yelled happily, "There ain't nothing' I can't make right as rain – well, if we got rain. But enough dry jokes! One heartless disappearing act, coming right up!" he came down beside the group and lifted a hand. With a poof of black, the swarm in around them vanished without a trace.

"Gawrsh!" Goofy cried.

Reni did as well, but for a much different reason, "DUDE! His 'talking all in one breath' skill rival's Sora's!!" Her eyes were wide and she was slightly slack jawed, "Wow…"

Donald turned to the man, "Why didn't you call him in the first place?" It was clear that he was trying to make his displeasure with curiosity.

"Well it's not that easy. You see—"

The blue form cut in with a flourish of his hands, "I couldn't have said it any better myself, but I will anyway! I'm strictly limited to three wishes per master. And no wishing for more wishes – that upsets the wishing balance…" He poofed away after that and Reni sighed with relief.

Sora gave the youth a smile, "Well you've still got two wishes! Use 'em the right way, you know?" the black haired kid nodded.

"I've got to get back to the palace somehow! But… with all these Heartle—"

"WE'LL HELP!"

The group of males turned to the beaming Reni, "What?"

"I said we'll help! We've been doing this for so long that the skills are embedded in our brains!" She picked at the dirt under her nails, "If anyone is going to help him, it might as well be us!"

The duck sighed and turned to Sora, "We're going that way anyway so we might as well—GAH!" The girl frowned as she grabbed the man's arm and started down the path.

"Sorry about him Aladdin, he's a selfish moron." Reni careened to a stop, giving Aladdin enough time to think about whether it was really okay to smack a comrade like that, "Wait…" She shook her head, "Um, which way is the palace again?"

Aladdin laughed and herded Reni down a different path, "This way."

- - - - -

Neki grumbled to a small piece of salmon colored paper, visibly angered by the words written there, "Mathematics RIGHT before lunch?! You've got to be kidding me…" With a sigh she shrugged, "Well I'll be failing that class without the help of randomly leaving for missions…" She tucked away the piece of paper into her back pockets and began her trek back home.

She flipped her backpack of her shoulder and began looking through it for her list of things to do that Mickey left her. Pulling it out, she scanned the items.

_Get used to the town – in case you need to make a hasty escape_

_Find a group of friends – easier to blend in and stay unnoticed_

_Find the answer to the first clue – you need to start your journey now_

_Good luck!_

Heaving a tired sigh, she reread the small note. So intent was she, that Neki didn't notice the group of teens coming from around the corner until –WHAM! – "GAH!" She found herself flat on her butt and staring up into bright green eyes, "Neki! Be careful!!"

The people behind him jumped to attention, shouting sentences like "How do you know her?" and "She's a friend of yours?" She continued to stare at him while he fought down the questions to quiet murmurs within the group.

'_Neki?? He knows my name?! Who the hell is this guy…?'_

Apparently, one of the teen's friends was thinking similar thoughts and came forward. He had slightly dirty blonde hair that was spiked up. He wore a black wife beater with a skull design on the front, a short unbuttoned army green jacket and camouflage shorts. He stared down at her with chocolate brown eyes filled with curiosity, "How do you know Aio?"

"Aio?" She asked back and the boy she had bumped into pulled her up and gave her a hug, one she shakily returned – his mouth near her ear, he hummed a tune. Her eyes widened as her mind recognized it as Mickey's theme, "M-O-U-S-E," she whispered back and he nodded, "Aio! Geeze, it's been a while..."

"I know!" He chuckled and with one hand wrapped around her waist, turned her to face his friends, "The rude one here is Hayner, the other guy is Pence, and the girl of the group is Olee—"

"Will you go shopping with me?!?" the girl pleaded, her green eyes large and misty with the promise of tears. The males all groaned and shook their heads at the question.

"Olette!"

"Um…Sure?" Neki squeaked and the girl bounced up and down, taking Neki's arms, which she had grabbed onto, with her. The blonde gave her new friend a strained look, who replied with a sigh.

Stepping up next to her, Aio grinned, "I guess the only way I'm going to get caught up with you is if I go shopping too," He gave Olette a devious look, "Smart plan dear Olette… Smart plan." She flashed him a grin and a peace sign and began marching the two towards a nearby clothes shop, giving Neki a chance to look over Aio.

He had icy blue hair, straight with slight emo bangs and brilliantly grey green eyes. His face structure was softer than Riku's she noted immediately. Underneath his white zip up hoodie was a dark grey shirt for a local band. His pants were slightly tight, but not overly so, with holes all over the place. He must have noticed her staring because he looked down at her and smiled. Neki mentally smacked herself for the blush that crossed her face as she sped up to link arms with Olette.

"So is orange your favorite color?"

- - - - -

END

Light: I was going to have a Riku part at the end I SWEAR!! TAT

Rainy: But?

Light: I can't beat the ReplicRiku to GET to the Riku half of CoM and the manga got taken down of the sight I use and more random excuse for denying Riku.

Riku: I hate you.

Light: I figured that…But at least I'm done?

Riku: nojoophail!

Rainy: YES!!! Yes, at least you finished it! –nervous laughter as she drags Riku away-

This Chapter brought to you by:

Light of Heave

Next Chapter sponsored by:

Black Rainy!

Review!! You can do it!


	4. Chapter 4

Kingdom Hearts: Meet Me by the Rosemary

A Light in the Rain production

Neki and Kixen © Light of Heaven and Kitty Fetish

Reni Concept © Kitty Fetish

Reni © Black Rainy

Xinre © Black Rainy

Aio © HappiPanda

Kingdom Hearts Characters and Concept © Square Enix and Disney

Final Fantasy Characters © Square Enix

All rights reserved.

Rainy: I'm in SUCH pain…

Light: Why?

Rainy: I think I slept funny.

Light: Ah.

Rainy: Yep.

Light: …

Rainy: This is an entertaining beginning.

Light: Write.

Rainy: Glad you agree with me.

Light: …I meant to write the chapter, not the word "right".

Rainy: …OHHHHHH—

**- - -**

Chapter 4

An irritated man with long blonde hair in a black coat appeared in a dark room. "What's going on, Zexion? I demand an explanation." He crossed his arms and glared across the room at a silver haired young man with a nonchalant expression. The blonde man glanced at a much larger, muscular, somber brown haired man, but looked back at the other smaller man.

"Nice to see you too, Vexen." The silver haired man, known as Zexion, said with a coy smile. "You know, it's deplorable…the Organization used to be the rope that binds us. Now it's full of kinks." He flicked his eyes up at Vexen, smirking still.

Vexen's eye twitched and he took a step towards the younger man. "How dare you say such a thing about the Organization!"

"Let it go, Vexen." The large, brown haired man said calmly. When Vexen didn't relax, he repeated sternly, "Let it go. Please continue, Zexion."

"Thank you, Lexaeus." Zexion said, and the large man nodded. "I picked up two scents in the castle's lowest basement. One of them was Maleficent, but—"

"Absurd." Vexen scoffed, eyebrows furrowing. "That witch is gone. She cannot return from the realm of dark of her own volition." Lexaeus sighed at the two.

A muscle in Zexion's face twitched with annoyance. "If you'd let me finish…" He flicked his eyes back up at Vexen, but then looked down at his notes on the table in front of him. "The scent belonged to a very convincing double. But I can't say much beyond that, since the would-be Maleficent is no more. Our other visitor saw to that."

Lexaeus looked at Zexion. "Who is it?"

"I don't know, actually." Zexion answered, looking at Lexaeus. "But the scent was very similar to the Superior's…" he looked down at his notes, and mumbled, "Exactly similar, if I may say."

Vexen scoffed again, "Rubbish!"

Zexion's eyes flashed dangerously at Vexen. "Fact." He looked back at Lexaeus. "Now, what shall we do?"

Lexaeus leaned back in his chair, and sighed deeply. "…let us bide our time and see what develops."

**- - -**

"WHOOSH! Dude, this is so fun." Kixen cackled as she summoned her whip yet again. She made it disappear. "First, it's like—" she flicked her hand up above her head, "—and then FWHOOSH!" Kixen speedily yanked her hand down, and, in a flash of black and red, the whip from before appeared in her hand with a loud crack. Xinre nearly fell off of Kixen's bed trying to avoid the six slender, painful tips.

"Watch it!" The brown haired girl quickly grabbed the end of the whip before Kixen had a chance to bring it up again. "If you're going to do that, do it outside. I'd prefer not to have big giant welts where you accidentally hit me." Kixen made the whip disappear with a pout. "Thank you." Xinre sighed.

"Man…it sucks that you haven't exactly found your weapon yet. I mean, you found one power, but nothing else." Kixen splayed her legs out like a lazy teenager.

"Thanks for rubbing it in!" Xinre laughed, hugging her knees.

"ACK! PANTY SHOT!"

"Relax, they're pretty panties." Kixen pushed Xinre off the bed at that comment.

"I banish you and your pretty panties from the bed tonight." Kixen stated dramatically. She ignored Xinre when she stuck her tongue out, and stretched. "Argh, I'm bored…let's go pour a bucket of water on Axel!" The pink haired girl stood.

"You love doing that, don't you?" Xinre sighed, not moving from her sitting position on the floor.

"Yep…let's get that bucket of water from Demyx!" Kixen's eyes sparkled mischievously. Xinre raised an eyebrow.

"You just wanna make Demyx show you the hidden nobodies." Xinre looked at Kixen suspiciously.

Kixen huffed and turned away from her friend. "Really, Xin, I thought you knew me by now! Nah, I can pick up on that on another day since today was a failure. Now…" she looked over her shoulder at Xinre with a big grin. "…let's go get that bucket." And with that, she left the room.

**- - -**

Footsteps echoed down the white halls of Castle Oblivion's basement, the source being none other than a trudging Riku with a look of, '_kill me now_' plastered on his face. He walked forward a few more feet, and then grimaced as if tasting something terrible. "Something…tastes kind of funny…"Riku pressed a hand against his mouth. "What is it? It's so familiar…" His eyes narrowed as he recalled the taste. "Darkness. The taste of darkness."

Leaning against a white, marble wall, Riku buried his face in his hands. "What's happened to me? …the darkness even seeps into my senses."

"Don't you worry, Riku!"

Riku jerked up at the voice, tripped a little, stumbled to the side, and then righted himself. "Holy chocolate covered muffin on a silver platter the size of Wonderland!"Riku took a deep breath as he gazed at none other than a fuzzy image of King Mickey himself. "Your Majesty!"

Mickey stared at Riku for a moment. "'Holy chocolate covered muffin on a silver platter the size of Wonderland'?" the King raised a brow with a smile. "Been hanging out with Neki a bit too much, have we?"

Riku blinked. "Uh…right." He cleared his throat. "What happened to you? You're all…" Riku made motions with his hands. "…fuzzy."

Chuckling, Mickey replied, "I can only send a little bit of my power here." The King suddenly became solemn. "But I have a request."

Riku blinked yet again, but in surprise. "A request? From Your Majesty?"

"Riku, don't let go of yourself just because darkness has a hold on you." King Mickey advised while shaking a finger at the boy. "Fight the darkness inside you! It won't be easy…But don't forget! Even in the darkest darkness, there's always a little light." Riku's eyebrows furrowed.

"Light…within darkness?" Riku asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You and I have seen it!" Mickey exclaimed with a reassuring smile. "The far-off, welcoming light inside the door to darkness…the light of Kingdom Hearts, Riku—It'll show you the way." Mickey gave Riku a pleading look. "Please don't give up. Believe in the light. That's all I ask."

Riku took a deep breath. "Okay…I'll try my best." Riku held out his hand to shake Mickey's.

Mickey smiled. "And I'll try to find a way to reach you. I'll come, I promise." Mickey tried to shake hands with Riku, but Riku's hand went right through the King's.

"You're…" Riku watched his hand go through Mickey's again. "…and illusion? My hand passes right through you." He furrowed his eyebrows again.

Mickey wagged a finger at Riku with a knowing smile. "But we shook hands in our hearts. We're connected, you and me."

Riku stared at his own hand as Mickey's image started to dissipate. "Yeah…I guess so…" Then Mickey was gone.

And Riku was alone again.

**- - -**

"So, uh…" Goofy began as the group walked down the city streets. "…why are you going to the palace, Aladdin?"

Aladdin laughed sheepishly, "Well, it's this magic lamp I found in the Cave of Wonders, actually. I need to get it to the palace right away! I'm lucky I made it to _Agrabah_ in one piece." Aladdin shuddered. "The cave was crawling with heartless."

"Wasn't there anyone else there to help you out?" Sora asked, slowing down a little. Aladdin shook his head embarrassedly.

"I know how you feel, Master." Genie said solemnly, floating behind the group. "I've been delivering happiness for 2,000 years. And what help do I get? I keep dreamin' someone will wish me outta this gig. But go figure the odds on that." Genie sighed, and his big, blue shoulders drooped a little.

Aladdin looked at Genie sympathetically. "Well, how 'bout I use my third wish to set you free?"

Genie looked at Aladdin like he was a gift from heaven. "Doth my pointy ears deceive me? Master, you'd do that for me? You're not just pullin' my topknot now, are you?" Reni giggled.

Laughing, Aladdin replied, "I promise, Genie. Anyway, there's only one thing I really want." At this point the group had stopped moving completely.

"Then we'll just have to DO something about THAT, Al! Can I call you Al?" Genie asked, putting one huge arm around Aladdin's shoulders. Aladdin smiled and nodded. "So, what'll it be, Al? Fame?" He transformed into a movie star, complete with huge sun glasses. "Fortune?" A king. "A herd of luxury camels to call your very own?" A huge herd of camels suddenly filled the narrow street, causing Reni to eek from the dirtiness.

"Erm, no…" Aladdin had to jump a bit to be seen and heard over the…herd. "Uh, could you?"

"No problemo, saw this coming from a mile away!" Genie made the herd disappear, and Reni instantly started brushing herself off squeaking, "Ew ew eew eeewww!"

"Okay, well, there's this girl. Her name is Jasmine. She's princess of Agrabah. And…that's the problem. It's hard for a guy like me to get a chance to see her. That's how this all started. Jafar, the royal vizier, said he would help me meet Jasmine."

Sora smirked at Aladdin. Crossing his arms over his chest, Sora said, "Sounds like your wish should be that you can see Jasmine anytime you want, huh?"

Genie suddenly bounced right in front of Aladdin, startling him. "Well, I've got just the package for you! You'll not only meet the lady, you'll go in style…as PRINCE ALI!" Genie's already wide grin grew wider. "How d'ya like the sound of that Al?"

Aladdin's eyes were the size of dinner plates. "Me? A _prince_?! Can you really do that?"

Genie nodded smugly. "In an Agrabah minute!"

Aladdin grinned. "I guess the legends were true after all. Sora, let's hurry to the palace!" The group set off a little quicker than before.

**- - -**

"I've identified the scent." Zexion announced to the two other men sitting around the table. "It's Riku."

"Riku?!" Vexen sputtered in confusion, staring at Zexion. "But Riku is gone! He and that king were lost when they ventured beyond the door to darkness. How could he have escaped?"

Zexion and Lexaeus shrugged. Zexion suggested, "Riku once shouldered the darkness. Perhaps that made him half-dark."

Vexen's eyes glinted with realization. He raised his pointer finger as if he had solved the perfect crime. "And that's why you mistook him for the Superior!" He scratched his chin. "Fascinating…the dark power given to Riku facilitated his escape from the realm of darkness. One with ties to both the Keyblade _and_ the powers of darkness…" Vexen stood from the table. "This merits further research."

Before Vexen could leave to his studies, Zexion said, eyes down, "What I want to know is why Riku appeared here in Castle Oblivion."

"Ha!" Vexen barked with a grin. "That's simple! His existence resonates with that of another hero. Sora came, so Riku followed."

Zexion looked up with surprise. "Sora's in the castle?" Lexaeus remained silent, yet raised an eyebrow in interest.

"Yes," Vexen confirmed, crossing his arms over his chest. "He and his companions arrived earlier. By now that _dog_ Marluxia is already using Namine to meddle with Sora's heart."

"Interesting…"Zexion's eyes traveled downward again to the table. "I had no idea…"

Vexen scoffed. "I don't think Marluxia plans to hand Sora over, but…" Vexen smirked dangerously. "…he can play his little game." Vexen leaned on the table with both arms. "If he gets Sora, then we need only acquire Riku. If he truly is like the Superior, then we will be untouchable!"

**- - -**

"Dammit, where is he?!" Kixen grumbled, lugging a bucket of water down a hallway in the Organization XIII's headquarters. "I can't carry this thing around all day!"

"How about we forget throwing water on Axel and do something productive?" Xinre sighed exasperatedly, placing a hand on her forehead. "Like…clean something. Gain some brownie points—"

"LET'S MAKE BROWNIES!" Kixen grinned excitedly at her brunette friend. Xinre stared for a second, and then closed her eyes with a look of 'you have got to be kidding me'. She opened them again and stared yet again at her excited friend.

"Fine…as long as it doesn't include you using a knife…"

Kixen smirked as she made a portal into the Organization's kitchen—or, as it was normally called…The Kitchen of Perpetual Doom.

"What in the world is Xemnas thinking?" Xinre asked aloud, staring at the plaque on the open kitchen door, stating the ridiculous name.

"Easy," Kixen laughed, already delving into cabinets for the required utensils to make brownies. "Absolutely nothing."

Xinre smirked at her friend. "Except Kingdom Hearts." The two laughed.

"I wondered who was making all that noise," a familiar voice caused Kixen and Xinre to jerk in surprise. They turned to the kitchen door to see the source of the voice, Roxas.

"Roxy!" Kixen exclaimed. "Wassup, my blonde, angsty friend? We haven't talked to you since…well…"

"The day we appeared here." Roxas finished, walking to be completely in the kitchen. "And don't call me Roxy."

Xinre whistled. "That was a while ago…and Axel calls you Roxy all the time." She pointed out while poking Roxas in the shoulder.

"Yeah, well…" Roxas brushed her hand away and sat at the table. "…Axel's a retard." All three nobodies laughed.

"We were looking for him earlier," Xinre told Roxas while Kixen continued to look around for brownie ingredients. She sat down next to the blonde. "D'ya know where he is?"

Roxas looked at her suspiciously. "Depends…why were you looking for him?"

Relaxing in her chair, Xinre replied, "Kixen wanted to throw some water on him." She gave Roxas a look. "Know where he is now?"

"Ha, he's at Castle Oblivion," Roxas smirked at the girl, also relaxing. "And when you guys do happen to drench him, tell me first so I can join in. That's hella fun."

Xinre smirked back. "That we will. But he's all the way in Castle Oblivion? Aye yi yi…that's gonna be a difficult find."

"I'd suggest not going at all," Roxas shook his head at Xinre. "Don't tell anybody, but our Somebodies are there. The only reason I know is Axel's easily manipulated." He slumped with a bored expression. "Kixen can go, though. Her Somebody's not even near us."

"SWEET!" Kixen startled the two at the table with her sudden outburst. "IIIII'm saaaafe and yooooouur nooooot!" She gloated in a sing song voice while jumping up and down, pointing.

Xinre made a face. "Go make brownies!"

Kixen made a face right back. "I don't know how, smarty."

Both Xinre and Roxas sighed deeply as they stood to help make brownies.

**- - -**

"JASMINE!" Aladdin cried out to the unconscious princess surrounded by heartless. The black fiends were cornering the group itself.

"She needs our help!" Goofy shouted, hiding slightly behind his shield.

"We'll never make it in time!" Reni exclaimed while knocking an arrow.

"Then…I've no choice." Aladdin took a deep breath and looked at Genie. "Genie, I wish for you to save Jasmine!"

Genie saluted with his huge blue hand. "Can do!" He reared back, and bashed through all the heartless. "CHAAAAAARGE!" The heartless were gone.

Pushing past everyone, Aladdin ran to the fallen princess. "Jasmine!" He cradled her in his arms lovingly.

"We're lucky! She fainted, but it looks like she's okay." Donald sighed in relief while wiping his brow with the back of his feathered hand.

There was a small pause of silence, until Aladdin said, "I'm down to my last wish." He looked up at Genie. Aladdin looked like he was about to say more, but bright lights started flashing, blinding everyone.

"What's happening?!" Sora cried out, whipping around for the source of the blinding light.

"The lamp is gone!"

"Hmm, it seems my plans have gone amiss…" A sadistic voice drawled out maliciously. Everyone looked up to see Jafar, the royal vizier. Smirking, he continued, "I was certain you'd waste your last wish…what with poor Jasmine in distress and the Heartless to deal with." Jafar held up Genie's magic lamp, causing everyone to gasp. "But no matter. At last the lamp is mine to command!" He had a wild look in his eye.

"Why are you doing this, Jafar?" Aladdin growled, laying Jasmine gently down. "I brought the lamp, just as you asked!"

"Don't think you can fool me, boy!" Jafar cackled like a hyena. "You were going to use the lamp to win Jasmine! But we can't have that, now can we? You see, _I_ am the one princess Jasmine will marry!" He stopped to laugh maniacally. "If I marry Princess Jasmine, nothing can stop me from becoming the king of Agrabah! You are nothing more than a pawn in my game, street rat!"

Jafar thrust the golden lamp up in the air. "Genie! My first wish! Deliver Jasmine to me!"

Genie looked at everyone sadly. Ignoring Aladdin's protests, the big blue being picked up the unconscious princess, and carried her to the royal vizier. After placing her on the ground, Genie turned to look at everyone. "I'm sorry…my hands are tied on this one. I gotta obey whoever has his mitts on the lamp."

Sora whispered something in Reni's ear, and she grinned deviously. Suddenly, she ran at Jafar causing him to jump back.

"Genie! Seize that girl!" Jafar cried, and Genie glided forward and threw Reni onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Reni merely giggled.

"Sorry Reni!" Genie apologized, still holding the girl. Reni patted the top of his blue head forgivingly.

"Ha! You fell for it Jafar!" Sora shouted, pointing at the royal vizier.

"What do you mean?" Jafar growled, glaring at the group.

"You just blew your second wish!" Reni chirped, still being carried by Genie. "Only one more leeeeeeeeft!" She added in a sing-song voice.

Jafar's eye twitched in anger. "Your little ploy changes nothing!" He whipped around to face Genie. "GENIE! My last wish! Transform me into an ALL-POWERFUL GENIE!"

Genie set Reni down, and reluctantly worked his magic.

Soon enough, Jafar was a huge, horrifying, crimson Genie. Everyone got their weapons ready and charged.

**- - -**

"Okay, seriously, can we go home now?" Hayner and Aio whined loudly in unison. Neki and Olette glared over their shoulders from their spot at the clearance t-shirts.

Sighing deeply, Pence looked at the other two boys and began his long-winded speech: "If you haven't figured it out by now, women spend hours upon hours of searching, contemplating, and arguing with themselves through numerous clothing and accessory stores to find only one outfit. Seeing as these two haven't a bag of clothing with them yet, it seems their long, hard journey of finding the most fashionable attire is not over. We are the men of the group, and are obligated to follow these hardworking females wherever they go for however long, without complaints. It is a hard task to do, but we are men. We are strong. We shall survive."

Hayner blinked and cocked his head to the side. "What?! I see so many things wrong with that it's retarded!" Soon, the two boys were in an argument. Rolling his eyes, Aio walked over to be directly behind the girls, who had stopped paying attention a while ago.

"Olette, why don't you go handle those two?" Aio asked the brunette girl. Olette turned and glared at Aio for a second, before leaving the clothing rack to stop Hayner from yanking all of Pence's hair out.

Both Aio and Neki watched over their shoulders as the slightly funny scene played out, but soon turned to face the clothing rack. Neki glanced at Aio a few times while searching through the half-priced shirts. After a few more peeks, Neki asked softly and without turning away from the clothing rack, "So…you're teamed up with King Mickey?"

Aio began looking through the shirts as well (earning a few strange looks seeing as it was all female attire) and replied, "Yep. I'm going to help you."

Neki paused in her activities and finally looked at Aio straight-on. "Help me with what?"

Smirking, Aio glanced at her. "With your mission…picking out a shirt…" He pulled out a white camisole tank top with a built-in bra, held it up to Neki's chest, made a face, and muttered, "Man, I thought you'd be bigger than a D…such a big chest…"

Neki's eyes shot wide open in anger, and her lip drew to a thin line. She froze in what she was doing and breathed heavily to resist strangling him.

"Here's a size C," Aio pushed a slightly smaller replica of the first tank top into Neki's arms. Then he stopped to examine her again. "Hrm…you need a skirt that will give you some hips…face it girl, you have _none_." He moved over to the other side of the clothing rack where the skirts were.

Neki's face turned a dangerous shade of red. "I _HAVE_ hips! It's the pants! THE PANTS!" Aio looked at her with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

"Says the girl wearing the _hip-huggers_."

Eye twitching slightly, Neki bundled up the white camisole and threw it at Aio as forcefully as she could. "You are such a pervert! Looking at my body like that—guessing my bust size! I should slap you silly!"

Aio merely laughed and took the camisole off his head. "What? I'm just helping a girl who doesn't know how to dress herself." He put the tank top on the rack and leaned over the top of it. "Listen, the King's filled me in on all of your information—even personal information. So I suggest you don't get on my bad side or I could humiliate you severely." Aio leaned back and started looking through the clothes again.

Neki's eyes narrowed and she stalked around right next to him. "What do you mean 'personal information'?" Suddenly, another tank top was shoved into Neki's chest.

Aio flashed his eyes at her with a mysterious little smirk. Softly, he whispered, "You love the color of Riku's eyes." He walked away from the blonde girl.

Neki watched him walk away. Then she finally looked at the item of clothing given to her. She gasped slightly.

It was cyan.

**- - -**

"I'm glad Aladdin set Genie free in the end." Sora sighed as he entered the blinding white hallways of Castle Oblvion. "He's a good guy."

"I'm glad that none of us got set on fire!" Reni exclaimed, rubbing her temples. "And yes, Aladdin's pretty cool."

"Phew! That battle was a toughie!" Donald complained, rubbing his shoulder. "I'm so sore…hey, what's wrong, Goofy?" Everyone looked at their tall, doggish companion.

"It's that castle I mentioned earlier…I'm sure I didn't make it up!" Goofy stopped walking and faced everyone. "That was the castle where Sora used the keyblade to free Kairi's heart. Then he disappeared for a while, remember?" He frowned. "I'll never forget how worried I was."

Sora gasped. "Oh yeah! When I turned into a Heartless! Wait…that happened…" He cocked his head to the side. "…in a castle?"

"You forgot?" Donald scoffed. "I remember it perfectly!"

Reni blinked rapidly. "I remember bashing someone's head into the ground…" she pursed her lips and scratched her arm. "Hrrmmmm…."

Everyone blinked and inched away from the blonde girl.

"Well…what was that castle called then?" Sora interrupted the awkward silence. "Jiminy, didn't you write down everything that happened in your journal, right?" Jiminy hopped onto Sora's shoulder and nodded, pulling out the said journal.

"I finished off the first volume right before we got to this castle." Jiminy said smugly, flipping through the pages. "It should be riiiight—wait…this isn't possible!" His eyes were bugging out of his head, and he turned the pages faster. "All the entries have vanished! Every page is blank!" He started back at the beginning. "How could this happen?! I take such good care of my journals! All that hard work…just…gone…" Jiminy looked up from the journal with such a look you thought he just might cry. Reni came over and stroked his little head with her pointer finger comfortingly.

Sora looked around the hallway. "What kind of castle is this?"

**- - -**

Rainy: WHOO I just cranked this one out SO fast.

Light: …rub it in my face why don't ya?

Rainy: Ruuuuuuuuuuuub!

Next to write: Light of Heaven!

Read and Review please!

Reviews will make Jiminy not cry anymore…which seriously just tore my heart in two. I almost want to start crying myself.


	5. Chapter 5

Kingdom Hearts: Meet Me by the Rosemary

I Kingdom Hearts: Meet Me by the Rosemary

A Light in the Rain production

Neki and Kixen © Light of Heaven and Kitty Fetish

Reni Concept © Kitty Fetish

Reni © Black Rainy

Xinre © Black Rainy

Aio © HappiPanda

Kingdom Hearts Characters and Concept © Square Enix and Disney

Final Fantasy Characters © Square Enix

All rights reserved.

Light: -smacks Rainy- NO CLIFFY!

Rainy: Why not?!

Light: Because! –starts pouting- it's not faaiiir!!

Rainy: How?

Light: Because!! … what is this 50 questions?

Rainy: No?

Light: …right.

Rainy: Okay?

- - - - -

Neki would have most likely continued to stare at the top in her hands for all eternity if it wasn't for Olette coming up from behind her and squeaking, "That's such a cute top!! You have to get it!" She felt her head nod, but the blonde didn't notice. She took in a slow breath and turned to Hayner.

"Do you know where the hardware store is? I need to get some paint if I'm going to get this shirt." Everyone stared at Neki, slightly confused and in the right being so, until Hayner shook himself from his daze and nodded.

"Yeah, I can take you there tomorrow if you want me to."

She gave him a soft smile and tilted her head out of habit, "It's a date!" Behind a few racks of pants, Aio was giving Hayner the death glare of a lifetime. Neki turned to Olette, "This is all I'm getting." She started for the register as she pulled her munny out of her pocket, "I've got to go back home, I'll catch you all later, okay?" The group nodded and waved, allowing her to jog to the register with her find – all thanks to Aio of course, though at this moment Neki would be damned if she'd admit she was thankful to that pervert.

As she left the department store, she pulled to a stop and looked around, "Aaahhh…" Just…where the hell was she?! Some one placed their hand on her shoulder and spun her into a nearby wall, "You look lost," Aio said, standing over her slightly, "I'll walk you back to your place." She blinked stupidly as he placed his hand under her chin and forced her to nod.

"Sure…" she said with an undertone of sarcasm, "I'd love it if you would." He threw her a look as she brushed past him. Looking her up and down again, he jogged up to her and gripped her upper arm, pulling her in the opposite direction, "What the hell!! You can just TELL me I'm going the wrong way! There is no need to touch me you disgusting PIG!"

Aio gave her a blank look, oblivious –intentional or not – to her remarks "Look, if you're scared I'm going to molest you, I'll have you know I am a gentleman. I'll wait for the second date!" He started to pull her again, and she spun around and kicked him in the side, grinning smugly when he grunted and fell to the ground.

"I'm good, thanks."

Groaning he pulled himself into a sitting position and gripped his side, "Okay I guess I might have maybe in some weird way deserved that…" Extending his free hand out to her, he smiled, "Let's start over. I'm Aio, and I'm here to help you." Neki lifted her head so she was looking down her nose, and he shivered from the evil aura she was giving off. Just has they were about to shake, she responded by smacking his hand away from her.

Her glare intensified as her other hand tightened the grip on the bag holding the shirt, "I don't need your help. Do you think I'm some idiotic, weak and defenseless girl?" Neki barked a laugh; her head tipping back slightly as she did so. The sound was silenced quickly, and the shunned look retook her face, "Don't flatter yourself in thinking that you're worth something. I am not my brother, nor am I some pawn of the King's." She snuffed him and turned on her heel, "I'll use you until you're no longer useful."

Aio stared at her fleeting back as he tried to process the event that had just occurred, "Who in the world IS she?!"

Neki rolled her shoulders as she sharply turned a corner, gravel crunching under the soles of her shoes. For some reason her neck always hurt after she got angry. Blowing it off like she usually did, the blonde calmed herself by pulling the tank top from the bag and hugging it to her frame, "Riku… I wish you were here…" He had always been able to calm her down and make her feel better so easily. Just a smile and a look into those eyes of his and she was as happy as a kid with a gift card for the toy store.

She sighed and slowed her pace, running a hand through the stray hairs that had fallen out from her pigtails. This was more frustrating then being stuck on Destiny Islands with just the idea of who to protect. This time… this time she didn't have Reni with her to pass the time. To share inside jokes with. To keep her sane and know her every mood without a single word. This time she was completely stranded in a new place – well that wasn't true, but she didn't want anything to do with Aio at the moment – and she had to start a life from scratch.

Her feet carried her around another corner, and she looked up to see her new home. She blinked and glanced around, wondering when it was she got there. Seemed her feet were already familiar with the path home. Neki chuckled lightly as she remember having Riku take her home because she would always get lost on the way to her house with Sora – for the first few months at least. She started forward and pulled her house key from her front pocket, slipping it into the lock and opening the door.

She removed her key as she kicked off her shoes, and made a running dash for the kitchen, sliding and jumping up onto the island, "Well then, what's for dinner?"

- - - - -

Donald pulled the group to a stop and folded his arms. He made a noise in the back of his throat as he thought, and Goofy poked the duck's side to get his attention, "Ah, I'm just thinking... How could everything Jiminy wrote just vanish? Reni, don't say anything."

The girl closed her mouth and pouted, walking towards the door that sat before them. Sora stepped up to offer his idea, "Well maybe it's not just what's written…Goofy said we've been in another castle right? But I don't remember it at all. None of us really do. Maybe...Maybe we don't remember because those memories are gone."

The magician scoffed and placed his hands on his hips defiantly, "Gone? Don't be ridiculous."

Reni grinned, "Ah, but don't forget what our black hooded 'friend' said. Too lose is to find and to find is to lose." Jiminy popped up on her shoulder, and together they completed the thought, "He was talking about memories!!"

Sora adopted a blank face, "So you mean…So if we… Our memories?" Reni nodded her head and turned away from him, "If we keep going there's a chance we could lose all our memories?" He paused and scratched his cheek, "No wonder they call it Castle Oblivion."

Trying to cheer the mood, Reni added, "Where to lose is to find and to find is to lose!!" Sora smiled, grateful for the action, but still a little worried about the prospect of forgetting his special people.

"So the higher we go… the more we forget… What if we forget everything and can't get it back?!" Donald cried, flapping his arms wildly.

"Donald, be careful!! I wouldn't want you flying off!" Goofy said, grabbing his friend's wrist to keep his arms at his side. Donald frowned and glared at the other, who grinned nervously in response. "

Sora's face fell, and he shoved his hands into his pocket. Reni joined him at his side and gave his arm a little squeeze, "So I'd forget Riku? And Kairi too…"

Donald frowned in worry, "Maybe we should turn back…"

The blonde downcast her eyes, "And Neki…"

The humans of the group, if we applied cartoon physics to the situation, were now residing in their respective EMO corners, and Donald chuckled uneasily as Goofy began to speak, "Don't worry!! We'll most definitely forget where we've been and what we saw, and the future will look bleak and dismal because the adventures that made us are no longer there, and hence we've become the ugly creatures of yesteryears, but never fear!!" Goofy paused in his speech, completely unaware of the fact that he was getting a death glare from Donald, "Because we'll never forget our friends."

Reni lifted her head and stared blankly at the solider, "Aside from almost making me feel ten times worse than before, that was insightful and smart." She paused to look amongst the others, "And I'll be the first to ask… Where is the real Goofy and what have you done with him?!"

Goofy waved his hands in defense, "No! Really! Sora, when you turned into a heartless, did you forget us?"

"Psh, course not!" Sora lamented, rolling his eyes at such a ridiculous notion, "How could I?"

He turned to the female, "And you Reni?"

She tensed and dropped her eye contact, making the brunette furrow his brows, "Of course not. I'd never forget you?"

Oblivious to her sudden change in composure, Goofy nodded, "See? I'm right! No matter what happens you can never forget your friends."

Nodding slowly, Reni started for the door, "Yeah, I know." Sora followed, flashing him a smile.

"I guess there's nothing to be scared about after all!" Donald boasted, puffing out his chest, "Let's go!" He jogged over to Reni's side and passed her, heading for the door.

Sora stopped as a memory struck him, and folding his arms over his chest with a smile he spoke, "Hey Donald…Back when I was a Heartless, who was the one that thought it'd be a good idea to smack me on the head?" Donald froze, then spun around – obviously flustered.

"Now THAT is what you should be forgetting!!"

The trio of males shared a laugh as Reni ascended up the stairs, "Sora, cards!" He blinked, then drew them from his pants and tossed them in her direction. She caught and then sifted through them, deciding on a card with a frown and a turn of her head, "Coliseum."

Sora grinned at Donald's back, "It's clobberin' time!"

- - - - -

Kixen, poised on the counter with the fruit of Roxas and Xinre's labor in her hand, smiled contently to herself as Roxas leaned himself against the counter space next to her. He gave a sigh, and the rosette frowned, offering him a bite of her brownie, "No thanks Kixen." She narrowed her eyes, and then smiled as an idea hit her. Without warning, she pinched his arm so he would shout in surprise, and when he did so, shoved the brownie in his mouth.

"Never turn down chocolate!! It's a miracle in food form," she beamed as he glared and chewed. Finally he relaxed and rolled his neck, rubbing at it and spinning around so he was facing the same way as Kixen, "What's wrong?"

Roxas looked over at her, his blue eyes murky with an unidentifiable emotion, "It's nothing." The female watched him as he lowered his head and rubbed his forehead. Xinre observed silently from the table, curious about Roxas's mood as well. Sure, the blonde was angsty, but never _really_ angsty so that he wasn't even making rude remarks about something.

He could feel their eyes on him, and it made Roxas squirm unpleasantly. With an angry sigh, he snapped his head up to make eye contact with Kixen, "Stop doing that!!"

"Doing what?" She asked simply, her face, as well as her voice, void of any hint of her inner emotion at the moment. Xinre perked up and glanced at the rosette, surprised by the change in demeanor. Kixen looked down her nose at the male, her blank face almost making him feel inadequate to stand before her, "I'm just sitting here."

Roxas growled and straightened up, her stare already getting under his skin, "Kixen, this isn't funny."

Her brow raised slightly, "Am I laughing?" She pushed herself off the counter in a small jump, landing with a small thump, "If you have something to say, then say it. Biting your tongue is a coward's way of thinking." Turning back to look at him, he could see a glint of something in her eyes, "Are you a coward?"

Tensing, he bit his cheek to keep from shouting – it would only mean she won, "I'm not a coward."

"Then, what?" Xinre said, leaning forward on the table from where she watched the exchange, "What's on your mind Roxas?"

The blonde sighed, figuring there was no easy way for him to get out of this with his pride intact, "It's just that… Well… Why is it the three of us get along so well? I still don't fully trust anyone here yet, but I would trust my life to the two of you…" He clenched his hands, "And I don't get that…"

Emotion returned to Kixen's face – one Xinre couldn't place – and the corners of her lips came down in a small frown, "Do you know how our Somebodies are connected?" He brought his head up to shake it, "Axel says they all lived on the same world together. He says they are all really good friends, but wouldn't tell me more than that."

"Maybe that's why…" Roxas contemplated the new information, rubbing a knuckle over his bottom lip, "We're connected like they were…?"

Kixen shrugged, playing with a strand of her waist long hair, "I don't know, but I could care less." She started for the door, her boots barely making a sound as she walked, "We are Nobodies. Nothing but a shell wishing for the warmth of the light."

A form blocked her path and she careened to a stop, "Well put, Kixen." Her eyes flicked up to meet ones of a similar color of her own and she pulled herself back a few steps to bow – along with Xinre and Roxas.

"Superior, what an honor to see you." The three of them chorused.

He nodded is head to acknowledge them and fully entered the kitchen, allowing Kixen to slip out. She pulled her hair into a low ponytail, tight enough so it wouldn't fall out, and bolted down the hallway. As she flew down a set of stairs, a dark portal opened up in front of her and she ran right into it, "AH FRAP!" Thin but muscular arms wrapped around her waist and spun her to a stop, and she looked up to see Axel's smirking face, "Axel!!"

"Miss me?" he said, his canines flashing for a quick second as his smirk widened. She wrapped her own arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder, "Hey hey hey you better not be crying! Crying females aren't my forte." She giggled and pulled back.

"I'm not crying! I don't think I know how…" she said plainly, "What are you doing here?!" Kixen blinked and cocked her head, "Well actually the question is what am I doing here…" Axel snorted a laugh and the two separated. She glanced around the stark white room, admiring the intricate designs etched into the walls, "Is this…?"

He nodded and walked over to a white couch, falling onto it with a sigh, "Yeah, Castle Oblivion. I was bored so I thought I'd kidnap you and force you to dance." She leveled her gaze at him and he grinned and shrugged, "Well the dancing was worth a try."

As she made her way over to him, her hips swaying slightly from her slow walk, she sobered the conversation, "Axel, what am I really here for?" Her golden eyes snapped up from the floor to connect with his emerald ones, "I know it's not because you're bored. If you were we'd be setting Demyx's butt on fire." His eyebrows flew up as he tilted his head to the left and nodded, then made eye contact with her again.

"You need to get stronger if you're going to overthrow Xemnas."

Her face flushed and she drew back a step, "How do you know about that?"

Axel leaned forward on his knees and gave the rosette and 'oh please' look, "I know everything about you Kixen. From the top of your head to the bottom of your feet. There isn't any thought that's gone through your mind that I'm not already aware of." She flushed a deeper shade of red that caused him to furrow his brow, "I'm going to train you when I can."

"How?!" She blurted, slightly furious that someone had so much knowledge of her without her direct consent. As an idea struck her, she glowered at him, using her height to add to the evil aura she was building up, "Have you been inside my room?"

The fire user just shrugged and smiled, "You have a really comfy bed. Good for reading diaries."

With an angry scream, she charged for him, but he flipped over her head and opened up a dark portal, "Hey Kixen…" he stepped backwards into the portal, giving her a 'come here' hand gesture, "Catch me if you can."

- - - - -

Riku sighed, glancing around the dark atmosphere that was the inside of a whale's belly. He was sure the exit would be around here somewhere, but there was a stubborn memory that kept making him dizzy. Hence why he was currently just sitting on a platform above the sea of spit. He shook his head and chuckled as he remembered Neki falling and having to swim through it while he tried to subdue his laughter so he wouldn't get hit.

He didn't get physically abused that time, but getting whacked with saliva soaked hair certainly hadn't been on his agenda.

Pulling himself up, he rubbed the back of his head and gave his surroundings a once over before jumping back down to solid ground. Well, sort of solid. It was more squishy, but that's beside the point. He rolled his shoulders before running down the path that was before him, hoping it would get him out of this place before the memory of Neki punching him resurfaced.

He skidded to a halt and punched the wall, "Dammit!" With his eyes closed tight, he tried to push the harsh words that had been said that day out of his mind, "That was the darkness talking! That wasn't me!!" Scoffing, he ran a hand through his hair and straightened up, "Who am I kidding? The darkness only brought out what I'd been too afraid to say."

"That's right."

His vision blurred for a second as the voice registered in his mind, his head snapping up to see a sly smile and blonde hair disappearing around a corner, "What the—?" Bolting for the girl he knew had to be the wanna-be Neki, Riku's head spun, trying to wrap it around why she was here, "Now wait a damn second!!"

Light giggles floated down to him, Neki's melodious laugh spurring him to go faster, "No! I don't want to!!"

"Tch!" Skidding around another corner, barely missing smacking into the wall, Riku finally saw the blonde hair swishing back and forth as she ran. He tried to make himself go faster, but no matter what he did, she seemed to stay the same distance away, and it was starting to get on his nerves, "Slow down already!" She just turned her head to look back at him before letting it fall back to laugh loudly, "NEKI!"

At her name, she stopped running, and Riku suddenly found himself needing to stop or else he would run the girl over. He sidestepped her, and instead ran straight into the wall, falling to the ground with a thump and a loud groan, "Stop moving already," he whined as she bent down to smile at him.

"I thought you could use some help finding the exit," she brushed back a piece of his bangs and gave his forehead a kiss, "Don't dawdle in the past Riku. If you're always looking behind you, you'll eventually walk right off a cliff!" He lifted his head to glare at her, to which she grinned coyly and blew him a kiss. He blinked and sat up, but as soon as he did, she was already gone.

He stared at the exit for a few minutes before standing and rubbing his temple, "This place is going to give me the migraine of the century…" Walking forward, he was blinded by a bright light, and he opened his eyes to find himself in yet another stark white hallway, "And if it doesn't do that it's going to blind me. I just know it."

"Riku, I presume?"

Riku let his hand fall to his side, "Who's asking?" He narrowed his eyes at the male standing before him, "Are you with Ansem?"

Vexen chortled, "You're only half correct. Let us say that it's not the Ansem you know. He is Ansem and he is not — which is to say he is nobody." The silver haired teen scrunched his nose in thought. Vexen observed with a slight raise of one of his brows, waiting for Riku to speak again.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm not much of a riddle person. So you can either say it straight or don't say it at all," he retorted, crossing his arms and turning his head away from him. The other's lips twitched into an annoyed smile, battling being courteous and being smart.

"He belongs to neither the light nor the dark, but walks the twilight between. As do I. And for that matter — Ha ha, that's right. We have much in common." Vexen answered, his smile tense, but still holding.

Riku rolled his eyes, "Yeah, because I have SO much in common with a total nerd." Vexen's smile dropped and was replaced with his typical scowl, "Look if that's an invite to your little glee club, count me out. I got darkness in me, but that doesn't mean I want to be like _you_!" The male growled dangerously as a warning, but Riku ignored it and continued to insult the scientist, "Seriously, if siding with the darkness means I end up looking like you or Ansem I'm going to fight it with everything I've got!!"

"That's IT!" roared Vexen, lunging for the teen, "I'm going to rip that pretty boy face of yours right off!" Riku summoned his sword and using the blunt side of his blade, slammed it down on Vexen's head. He forced down laughter as Vexen's wound comically spurted blood, with the male screeching and running around the hallway as he tried to make the bleeding stop. In his run, the blonde ran into a few of the columns before he made his way back to Riku, who kicked Vexen's shin.

As he went around for another lap, Riku took the time to fall to the ground, banging on the floor with his palm as he tried to breathe in between burst of laughter, "If I keep laughing, I think this guy might actually win!!" He barked a laugh at his own joke, and noticed that Vexen had finally stopped running again and had summoned his weapon, "Oh? Getting serious are—" Riku, who had been trying to stand, fell back to the floor and began rolling side to side, "I'm sorry!! Oh my god I can't fight you!!"

Vexen's serious face dropped, and he slowly turned away from the flailing teen with a blank look, "No respect. I tell you, I get NO respect around here." He sighed and gave a half assed attempt at getting into his battle position, then let a small 'Mew' come from his mouth before he started for Riku's laughing form.

His hand twitched, and he summoned his sword and swept Vexen's legs out from under him, "Oh well what do you know? I guess I can fight you seriously." His head came up as he did, and smirked down his nose at the fallen Organization member, "Shall we? Or are you going to be smart and give up?"

Instead of looking scared as Riku had expected him to be, Vexen started laughing himself, an evil cackle that worried the teen, "This battle has cleared up a few things. The darkness coursing through you is a tremendous power. But to tap into it, certain conditions must be met…"

"Say what?"

"It's strongest when you're angry. It feeds off it like Chaos." Vexen twitched and turned to the side as a dark portal opened up and a girl with bright pink hair fell soundlessly to the ground, "Speak of the Devil," his eyes narrowed, "Kixen." At her name, her head snapped in Vexen's direction.

"Ah if it isn't the little lab rat, still stuck in his maze." Her eyes glowed dangerously as she circled around to see Riku, "Who is this? A lost little fledgling of the Key Bearer."

Riku smirked and glared at the new arrival. He gave a slight shake of his head, "Other way around sweetie. I'm Riku, Sora's the one always following me." He crossed his arms, subconsciously trying to shield himself from her golden orbs, so similar to Neki's. She lifted her head with an eerie smile adorning her features.

"It doesn't look like he's following you to me." With a flick of her wrist, another portal was opened and she faced Vexen again, "If you don't die before you see Axel again, tell him he's a dead man." She leapt forward into her portal and was gone.

The scientist shook his head and lowered it so his forehead touched his outstretched fingers, "Such a girl should be kept chained up and out of the public view…" Returning his attention to Riku, he continued, "Your fiery reaction gave me just the data I needed, and you have my thanks." Vexen vanished into a portal of his own and Riku was left alone and more confused than ever.

"Screw the migraine and screw going blind. This place is going to be the death of me…"

- - - - -

Reni's eyes followed the same path as Goofy's, following the slight curve of the stone pillars that held a stone roof with intricate patterns as statue's carved into it. Immense golden soldiers stood on either side of the entrance with shields held to their chest and swords held high. Light tan, coarse sand crunched slightly beneath their feet as they meandered forward. Sora bolted up the steps, followed by Donald and then Goofy, Reni bringing up the rear – the only one not acting like an over excited child surprisingly enough.

The room was small, more like a lobby, with small indents in the left and right wall which were decorated with various medals and trophies. Reni stepped close to one and inspected the title; _Hades' Cup_. She frowned and followed her duck companion over to a flyer he was reading, "Look, it's some sort of announcement." He summoned the rest of the group, and Jiminy emerged from Sora's pants pocket to jump onto the blonde's shoulder.

"Well I'll be. It's some sort of contest. Called the _Olympus Coliseum Survival Cup_ it is," the cricket rubbed his chin and folded his arms as he read on, "Contenders have to run an obstacle course while battling each other." He blinked and widened his eyes a little, leaning back slightly, "And listen to this: _The great hero Hercules will also compete for the Cup._ It says here he's never been beaten."

Almost immediately after those words left Jiminy's mouth, Sora's chest puffed out and he – coughTRIEDcough – began strutting his stuff, folding his arms like he was some big bad bouncer for a hot club that everyone wanted in to, "Yeah, well we can change that."

Reni's head dropped, as did her shoulders, "We're entering aren't we?" Goofy crossed over to wrap the girl in a comforting hug, "Whenever there's a contest, you just HAVE to add in your two cents. For once, can't you be a weenie like you're supposed to be and _not_ try to convince everyone that you're a man? Your plan is failing, I hate to tell you this." She leaned back to look over her shoulder at the slowly deflating brunette.

"Awe, you're no fun." he pouted, shuffling his feet and swinging his hands down by his sides, "It sounds like fun, so why not?"

The female pursed her lips and crossed her own arms, popping out her hip as she shook her head, "Yes, completely ignore the multiple attacks on you that were in that sentence, because that makes _perfect_ sense." She glanced over to see Sora smiling stupidly at her, truly and honestly oblivious to anything she could have said aside from one thing, "Fine, whatever, let's go join."

Donald sighed, "Like he cares. We both know that he'd join even if he didn't have us to save his butt when it gets royally thrashed by whoever." Reni shrugged and nodded, looking back over at the flyer.

"Ah! We have to pass a preliminary test before we can actually enter! _Only contenders who finish the preliminary course may enter the main competition._ Looks like that's right through here." She finished, motioning to the open doorway that stood right across from where they came in. Sora adopted his goofy grin, and with a sigh she took the lead and led the four of them into the next room.

From the other doorway, someone growled, and the all too familiar face of Hades entered the room, "Whoa-whoa-whoa now just WAIT a darn MINUTE! What the— what is this?! _Hercules is a model of true strength and gallantry – the perfect hero_??" He began to fume, turning from his usual blue to a brilliant reddish orange, "Oh he's perfect alright. Perfectly INFURIATING ME!! Just thinking about that little sunspot makes me boil!!" He growled again, louder this time, "I'd like to send him to the Underworld, permanent like." Hades thought a moment, then revised his statement, "Or burn him to a crisp, either or."

Behind him, another voice chimed into the conversation, "Hence why I'm here." Hades took a few deep breaths, returning to his natural color.

"That's right, that's right! You're my man…Cloud." He grinned from ear to ear as the spikey blonde haired man came away from the shadows of the doorway, "Your job is to beat Herc in the games, and once you've got him cornered, you finish it. Do that for me and—"

Cloud nodded and cut him off, "You restore my lost memories. As was agreed." Hades mimicked the nod and gave a slight bow to show his honesty.

"You have my word."

- - - - -

Axel's smirking face greeted Kixen as she exited from her portal, "So you've learned to do it by yourself huh?" She straightened to her full height, just a few hairs shorter than Axel was, and glared at him, "Oh! How scary, Pinky is angry with me!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" snapped Kixen, summoning her wipe to her side with a flick of her wrist. She swung it above her head a few times before crashing it back down onto the floor, the resounding crack loud enough to make even Axel flinch back slightly, but _only_ slightly, "Who the hell do you think you are?"

He smirked at her even more, his head tilting up to mimic her demeaning 'looking down the nose' thing, "I'm the only reason you're still alive. You really thought that Xemnas would keep you trash near him? If I hadn't swayed his opinion—"

Shouting in anger, Kixen wrapped her whip around his ankle and used her weight to pull his feet out from under him, causing Axel to fall and ending his sentence, "Shut UP! SHUT UP SHUT UP!" Angry tears were forming at the corners of her eyes, only serving to piss off the rosette further, "You liar! We both know nobody except Roxas should trust you!" Trying to shake the anger from her voice, she covered her mouth with her hand.

Although her words were muffled, the fire user still managed to catch her words, "Name one person who would listen if you told them to jump off a cliff, saying that it was perfectly safe?" Her breathing was labored from the rage that Axel had induced, her form shaking violently. Her knees grew weak, and she slumped down to the ground, tears spilling past her fingers, "Dammit! What is wrong with me?!"

"I'll tell you what's wrong." Axel said as he stood back up, dusting himself off – the pause only for dramatic effect – "You think you have feelings for me. So it's just that harder to control yourself when I'm in the room." He gave her a ridiculing smile, causing her to shrink into herself in self pity, "How cute is that?" Barking a laugh, Axel stepped forward and bent down, using his knuckle under her chin to force Kixen to look at him, "More like pathetic. The only reason you have those 'feelings' is because you're a defect."

Using her remaining anger, she smacked his hand away and forced herself to stand, "Don't touch me," she whispered, her low voice a testament to how angry she was, "Don't you even think about touching me." Her clips had fallen out in her rush to get away from him, and she glared up from chin length bangs, "You're horrible."

He could have gotten angry, or even looked at her like she was trash meant to be thrown out, but the fake happy smile that he adorned was the final blow to Kixen, "And you're weak."

With an furious yell, Kixen's hands covered themselves in the same black and red light that appeared when she summoned her whip. Slamming them down onto the ground, from Axel's point of view, it looked like she was ripping the floor open. But it wasn't so much that, as she was making a way for something to get it. What he heard first was the growling. Low growls that reminded him, not to fondly, of Saix in berserk mode. Then snarling and barking joined into the melody. Soon paws and jaws were appearing from the hole, and Axel watched in awe, and minor fear as six demonic looking large dogs found their ways out and in a defensive position around the sweating rosette.

The portal faded as the last wolf like creature exited, and it surprised him by talking, **"What do you wish of us, my Mistress?"** She removed one hand from the floor to caress his head in a malevolence way. Turning her head to look at Axel, he realized the extent to which he was screwed if he didn't reveal his plan to Kixen before she lost her cool and sent those dogs after him.

"Wait Kixen, listen to me!" Axel rushed, moving forward, only to jump back when one of the two smallish dogs nipped at his ankle.

"**Stay away from our Mistress. You are not trust worthy enough for her to waste her time,"** the voice was females, and the hound turned back to Kixen, gently licking her face, **"Mistress, you are weakened. Let us leave this place and this deplorable male."** Two of the larger dogs growled at her, but she shut them up with a snap of her jaws.

Kixen removed her gaze from Axel to look to the female that spoke to her, "Yes, Eris," the female, realizing she had been named, bowed lowly, "What you say is true. Now is a time for retreating." She lifted her other hand from the floor to stroke the side of Eris's head, "We will leave, and I will have my way with him at a later date." Turning to look at the first hound that talked, she addressed him by his new name, "Mythar, help me up." The male wormed his head under her arm, and he rose to his full height, reaching up to Kixen's bust. She wavered, but caught herself.

Axel watched in fascination as she shifted her hand to her side, a portal opening up instantaneously. Intent on making sure she wouldn't remain angry with him, Axel shouted at her retreating form, "My next break! We'll get sea salt ice cream." Kixen paused to look back at him. With an exhausted smile she nodded at him, and he let out a sigh of relief and happiness. She didn't hate him.

As the portal closed, the red head shook his head in confusion, "Wait, what do I care if she hates me?" He rubbed his temple and turned away from the spot the rosette had just been standing in moments before, addressing the room as if he was talking to the two boys they were currently toying with, "Ah, I wonder if her Somebody is this hard to deal with…"

- - - - -

"Achoo!!" Neki covered her face in embarrassment to the empty room she was sitting in. As she looked at her television from behind her fingers, she realized how silly she must looked, and got up to wash the snot that might have gotten on her hands – she'd always been a little paranoid about sneezing and coughing and the like, what with germs being 'invisible and everywhere' as Momma had often told her and Sora when they refused to wash up before dinner.

She sighed as she dried her hands, thinking fondly of the younger brunette, "My little Sora…. What are you up to right now?" Dropping the towel onto a counter, she made her way back to the couch and flopped down, closing her eyes as she lost herself to her fantasies.

They were probably entered into some kind of competition by now, or helping someone out just because it'd be a nice thing to do. Sora would probably be complaining about something, and Reni would scowl at him and smack his arm a few times until he shut up. She'd have a little monologue where she tried to explain why something was the way it was, and he'd start mimicking her comically, making Goofy laugh, and Donald to get frustrated with the lot of them.

Reni would get revenge by lighting Sora's pants on fire and watching him run around trying to get the fire to go out. Donald shouting indistinctively to 'stop drop and roll' and being drown out by Reni and Goofy laughing, supporting each other's weight so the two wouldn't fall to the ground from lack of air.

Neki giggled and sat up, looking around the bare apartment. It would be a while before she left probably. It was only logical to get comfortable, right? No one would get angry if she wanted to be happy with her new life. If she wanted to make new friends. _This is just like when Reni and I left to the island… Squall, Yuffie, Aerith, they all still love us._ Riku, Sora, and Reni wouldn't be angry with her, they'd want her to be happy.

Nodding to convince herself, she stood and grabbed the remote, turning the television off and starting up the stairs to sleep, "It's not like I'm leaving forever. I'll come back." She stripped and changed into her pajamas, crawling under her covers and snuggling into the softness of her pillow. As her eyelids grew heavy, Neki smiled, "I hope Riku is safe…"

- - - - -

Light: -falls over and starts twitching- Tooook foooooreeeevveeeerrrrrr…….. –passes out-

Rainy: Oh, you poor thing!! –pats lifeless form of Light- There, there. It's my turn so you get to rest some!

Light: -makes gurgling noises-

Rainy: And I think rest is what you desperately need……..

Light: -more weird noises-

Rainy: We'll just leave her alone for now… -sneaks away to go write-

Next chapter: BLACK RAINY! (finally….)

Don't forget to review and reward Light for killing her brain slowly! :D


	6. Chapter 6

Kingdom Hearts: Meet Me by the Rosemary

A Light in the Rain production

Neki and Kixen © Light of Heaven and Kitty Fetish

Reni Concept © Kitty Fetish

Reni © Black Rainy

Xinre © Black Rainy

Atticus © Black Rainy and Kitty Fetish

Naena © Black Rainy

Aio © HappiPanda

Kingdom Hearts Characters and Concept © Square Enix and Disney

Final Fantasy Characters © Square Enix

All rights reserved.

Light: Where the hell did you go?

Rainy: (Shudder) Even _I_ don't wanna know.

Light: That bad, huh?

Rainy: Yeah…Anyways, this chappie is in MY hands now! Lessee what will be pumped out of this tired, brain-dead, migraine filled noggin of mine!

Light: …now I'm scared.

Rainy: As am I.

Light: Oo;

Rainy: There's no turning back now, my dear friend.

Light: Thanks for creeping me out.

**- - -**

**Meet Me By The Rosemary**

**Chapter 6**

The white, lifeless walls of the rectangular box that could be loosely called a library seemed to ascend forever, all the way up to the clear glass roof. The only light sources were the bright, shining moon, stars, and pleasantly scented candles, which caused shadows to dance along the walls among walls of bookshelves. There was not a sound except for that of paper rustling caused by the room's sole inhabitant.

A wide, toothy, amused grin spread itself onto Axel's face as he flipped a page of Kixen's physical that he 'borrowed' (stole, really) from the file cabinet in Vexen's lab. Chuckling lightly to himself about her measurements—teehee, big boobs—the redhead closed the folder of medical papers, and tossed it lazily to his left. The manilla folder landed with a soft thud on the black leather couch cushion, overlapping two other folders that had previously been rifled through.

The Flurry of Dancing Flames leaned back into the back cushion, lounging in a lazy, cat-like manner. After reading the physicals of Kixen, Roxas, and even Xinre, Axel considered just who was advancing further, who was stronger, who was going to pose as the biggest threat for him.

Roxas, pfft. The kid was practically the redhead's best friend—Axel had tested the boy's strength. There was nothing he didn't already know in number thirteen's report—well, maybe the blonde's height and weight Axel didn't know, but the most important information Axel had already figured out. Roxas, if turned against him, would be a fair match for Axel. However…

…Xinre—what a joke. She was still back at square one. Axel could probably take that puny little shrimp out with a flick to her forehead. She could not run as fast as Roxas, nor Kixen. She was nowhere near as strong. The most the tiny little brunette could possibly do is to show off her flexibility—but what was the point of a front and center split during battle? Axel let out a sharp, bark-like laugh as he stared at the ceiling. Should she pose as a nuisance, Axel had a plan. A genius plan. And it starred…

…Kixen. Kixen, the self-righteous, independent, complex warrior. Axel's wide grin warped itself into a full-blown Cheshire Cat smile as he perched his elbow up on the sleek, leather arm rest, resting the side of his face on his gloved fist. The bubble-gum pink-haired girl was growing stronger and more skilled everyday, surpassing Roxas by far. The thought of battling against her made even Axel uneasy. It was hard to believe that Kixen was friends with a weakling such as Xinre. Kixen was at least 15 steps ahead of Xinre…which was perfect.

Though they don't have hearts, they still have some sort of emotions—they're there. Just dulled. But even a dulled feeling of jealousy can slowly turn into raging hate.

Axel leaned forward, placed his elbows on his knees, laced his fingers to create cradle for his chin. He analyzed every aspect of Xinre: stubborn, controlling, and quiet—a perfect concoction for internal chaos. And Kixen was the perfect person to instill it. Now all the redhead had to do was set the plan in motion with a bit of poking, prodding, pushing…

Smirking, Axel gazed up at the silver-rimmed analog clock that hung high near the ceiling above the door with evil glinting in his eyes. It was just a matter of time.

**- - -**

A soft, lazy song trickled out of the large, clunky radio that was sinking slowly into the squishy old couch in the Usual Spot. It made Neki sleepy, and she yawned loudly. Hayner and Pence ignored her as they continued on with their complex card game that made no sense to Neki. Olette yawned, as did Aio as they sat on either side of the blonde girl, all three leaned up against the poster-ridden wall.

Talk about lazy afternoons…there was nothing to do but maybe take a nice little catnap. Neki peered around the room with sleepy, half-lidded eyes. Light from the gorgeous sunset shone into the room through a hole in the ceiling-tarp-thing, and Neki watched little dust particles dance and swim through the beam of light.

She was getting used to the comfortably sluggish days that repeated endlessly. There were no heartless, no arguments, not really much of a mission…all Neki had to do was relax until the King left her a new note, or Aio got word from this other person (Dip, was it? Or Dicks? Pixie Stix? Liz? Ah, who cared…) on what to do.

With narrowed eyes and a tired stupor, Neki smacked Aio sharply on the arm, not even looking at him while she did it. Aio blinked sleepily, and then said with a yawn. "Owwwuuuuuuuuhhhh……neeaayyyarghhh…" He tilted his head towards her and mumbled, "Whut wuz dat fooooor?"

Neki yawned and replied, "Dunno…felt like it…"

Olette yawned too. "We should do something…watching Hayner try to play a game of spit is as painful and as boring as sitting in a non-ventilated, freshly painted room, watching the paint dry with a giant can of paint right under your nose—and it's the color you get when you mix purple and green together…"

"Heeeeeeey!" Everyone ignored Hayner's disgruntled protest.

Blinking, Neki mused aloud, "That's rather painful…and boring…"

"We could call it 'poring'." Aio suggested.

"Doesn't poring mean to be absorbed in a book or something?" Pence called from his sitting position, giving up and throwing his cards to the side.

"Which is also painful and boring." Neki confirmed with a tired smirk. She yawned yet again, stretching her arms out into a high V. She brought them down and placed her hands behind her head. "But yeah, let's do something different than just sitting around. Where I came from, we always had at least _something_ to do."

"Well," Aio shot her a look, "This isn't where you came from, so you can just get used to how we live here." There was a subtle, hard edge in his voice that signaled that it was an end to that topic. Aio brushed his baby blue hair out of his sea green eyes. "Do we have any money for ice cream? Or are we _that_ pathetic."

"We're _that_ pathetic." Olette replied, deadpan. She swung her little money pouch that held the groups' combined money. There was absolutely NO sound. "We spent the rest of it yesterday."

Neki ignored Olette and pursed her lips. Jerking her head to the side to get her bangs out of her face, she suggested, "How about we roast marshmallows?"

Hayner flopped over onto his side, facing the three among the wall. "Did you not just hear us, blond-o? No money—zilch, nada." The room suddenly fell awkwardly quiet as the light, airy song drew out its final chords from the radio.

'Blondie' made a face at him. "I have a stash of money that we could use to buy things we need, you tard-brain!" Neki suddenly had a surge of energy—a strong determination to go and roast marshmallows. "It'll be fuuuuu-uuuun!" she whined in a sing-song voice.

"I'll do it!" Olette chirped with that happy, girl-next-door smile she had. "It sounds like _way_ too much fun to pass up! We could do it on Sunset Hill! Ooh, and wouldn't HAVE to be just marshmallows—we could roast hot dogs too, or make 'smores!" That last idea got Pence and Hayner to perk up. "We're in!" the two males chimed together, standing up as quickly as their tired bodies would allow.

Aio rolled his eyes at the whole idea, but smirked and said, "As long as I don't have to pay anything, I'm game."

**- - -**

After Xemnas had entered the kitchen to hand Roxas a mission while Kixen quickly left, Xinre ended up wandering the slightly curved castle halls alone. The blank, bare white walls rose a good twenty feet above her head and made her feel uncomfortably small. The brunette pursed her lips as she walked past each arched window, staring at her moving reflection.

_I have a Somebody?_ Xinre mentally slapped herself. _Of course I have one, every Nobody had a Somebody. Still…_ She tore her gaze away from her reflection. Xinre didn't like the idea of someone else who looked like her. But her mind refused to let her not think about it. _I'm a girl, so my Somebody's a girl. What exactly does she look like? I know that our bodies and faces are supposed to be exactly the same, but what about hair? _Xinre started to descend some stairs. _Is she also a brunette? Is she a redhead? Black hair? _She set her foot on the bottom step. _Blonde?_

"Looks like someone's deep in thought," Axel suddenly appeared in front of Xinre, causing her to jump in alarm.

"I was just thinking about this whole Somebody thing." Xinre explained, taking deep breaths to slow her heart rate. Axel moved so Xinre could pass. She did, and he fell in step with her.

"Anything you don't understand about it?" The red head asked, quietly devising a plan on how to steer the conversation to what he wanted to talk about. "Like, who yours was, her connection with Kixen's Somebody…what?"

Xinre blinked. "I guess that last bit is something interesting to know." The brunette mused aloud, glancing up at Axel. "Tell me."

Axel smirked. Perfect. "Your Somebody and her Somebody were sisters." He sped up his walking pace to see if Xinre was interested to hear more. She scurried to keep up—she was. The red head's smirk widened. "That's all I'm going to tell you…but talking about Kixen…"

Disappointed, Xinre rolled her eyes. "Fine. What about Kixen?"

"She's progressing rather fast, no?"

Xinre shrugged. "I dunno, I haven't been paying attention."

"Well, she is." Axel assured, making sure to keep his manner mild and weather-conversation like. "Already has a weapon, can use the dark portals, has a couple skills under her belt…" his green eyes glanced dangerously at Xinre. "…makes me wonder why you're not quite there yet…"

Axel's last statement hit Xinre like a ton of bricks. The brunette stopped walking altogether, and Axel stopped about three feet ahead of her. He turned in a mild manner, as if wondering, just what, caused the girl to halt. "What do you mean?" Xinre didn't know if she should be insulted or not.

Axel seemed to read her mind. "I did not mean to offend. I'm puzzled how someone who's so much _smarter_ and more _clever_ isn't at the same standard as someone such as Kixen." He gave her a sinisterly sweet smile. "Someone as intelligent and as talented as you should surpass even the best skilled fighters."

Xinre wasn't even looking at Axel anymore, opting to look at the wall to the left of him instead. Sure, she had always had the sneaking suspicion that she was better than Kixen…so why was she so far behind?! Her confusion slowly started to creep its way onto her face. Axel looked at her with pity, slowly bending down and turning his head to the side to get a clear view of her face. He gently cupped the side of her face with his hand, slowly stroking her cheek bone with his thumb. "It just doesn't seem fair." He crooned, his voice dangerously low.

The brunette stared at Axel's leather-clad shoulder, not really seeing it. After a few moments, she softly said, "It isn't…" her eyes fell to the floor, just in time to miss Axel's victorious smirk.

**- - -**

"WHAAAAAAAAT?!" Sora whined pathetically, huge, blue orbs fixed on Phil. "The games are _cancelled_?" He dropped to his knees and shuffled forward, eyes still wide and transfixed on the much-shorter Phil. "How come?!"

Phil looked at Sora like he was insane. He held up three fingers. "Three words! Everyone's pooped!" Phil motioned towards the large, black scorch marks on the walls where numerous Hades' flames had been hurled. Then he motioned towards Donald, Goofy, Reni, Hercules, and the recovering Cloud, all of which battle-weary.

Goofy sat up from his sprawled out position on the floor. "Wait a minute…" Mouthing what Phil just said, Goofy counted how many words were said. His eyes opened wide in revelation. "That was only two—"

Sora interrupted Goofy. "You gotta be kidding! What about my match with Hercules?!" He then started to switch his gaze between Phil and Hercules, mouth agape in unbelief of the cruel unfairness.

Chuckling lightly at the brunette's childish reaction, Hercules apologized. "I'm sorry, Sora. But, c'mon…" Herc motioned towards his disheveled appearance. "You can't expect me to compete in _this_ condition." With a smile, Herc ruffled up the pouting Sora's hair. "Let's have a match when I'm all better, okay?"

Sora gave Hercules a look. "I'm gonna hold you to that!" Hercules laughed.

Reni interrupted the conversation like she always does. "You okay?" She asked the ever-silent Cloud who had been leaning against the wall, arms crossed upon his chest.

The blonde male glanced up at the girl, and then at the ground, as if ashamed. "Yeah. Sorry I messed up your games." Without a word, he pushed off the wall and trudged to the exit.

"Hey!" Sora yelled, getting Cloud's attention. The blonde turned to look back at the brunette with a 'what now?' look. Sora, smiling, continued. "Hope you get your memories back! Sometimes the tiniest thing can make you remember tons of stuff you forgot, so ignore what Hades said. If it's an important memory, it can't be gone forever."

Staring, Cloud registered what Sora had said. Then he got a small, faint smile. Without warning, the older man threw a glossy card at Sora, which hit the brunette right in the face. Scrunching up his face, Sora protested with a sound that resembled a dying kitten, and rubbed where the card—which was now on the ground—had made contact with his face.

Cloud ignored all that, and said, "That's for you. For helping me out."

Recovering from his card-to-face attack, the brunette replied with, "You sure you don't want to just come with us instead?"

Cloud turned around and flicked his bangs out of his eyes. "Sorry—not interested." Without a word, he left.

Everyone blinked.

"What was with the hair flick?" Reni asked.

**- - - **

"You seem pretty infatuated with this Sora kid, Axel." A blonde woman in an organization cloak snickered at the said redhead. She stood to the left of an LCD television screen, showing an image of Sora and the gang laughing at some joke the duck just told.

Axel's eyes tilted up from the screen, but his body remained motionless in a lazy slump in the leather oversized wingback chair. He gave her an incredulous look. "And you're not?"

"I…" The blonde slinked over to sit in a twin wingback chair next to Axel's. "…haven't made up my mind." She smiled much too sweet at him. "But I would _love_ to know what's on yours."

Axel rolled his eyes and shifted to lean away from her. "The kid became a Heartless, Larxene. You know what happens to people that do."

Larxene, the blonde, snuggled down in her chair, and folded her hands over her stomach. Looking at the screen, she answered, "Those who lose their hearts, lose their minds…feelings…everything is consumed by the darkness. They're blind, they're deaf, mute, and numb as they sink lower and lower, away from the light they can't see. Nothing can ever bring them back." She smiled.

"Exactly." Axel stood, crossed his arms, and walked over to the screen, which was closed-up on Sora. "Which is why I'm so intrigued. When Sora turned into a Heartless, he didn't lose everything. There's only one other man who has ever done that."

"Ahhhh…" Larxene rested her chin on her hand. "It's the strength of his heart that interests you." Her smile switched to a disgusted grimace. "How sappy."

Chuckling at her remark, Axel turned back to face her. "Yeah, but what makes it shine like that? What sleeps in its depths, locked away?"

"The heart is a mysterious thing, Axel." Larxene fiddled with her hair.

"And unlocking its secrets is the whole reason the Organization exists. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some meddling to do." The redhead quietly left the room.

**- - -**

"Hey, you've been quiet for a while." Aio stated while settling himself down next to Neki, legs spread out in a typical teenage sprawl. "I do believe it's some kind of record." He stabbed a marshmallow onto the pointy end of his stick, and held it close to the fire.

Neki's eye twitched and she smacked him upside the head with more force than she needed to. Ignoring his pitiful cry of pain, she snatched the marshmallow-roasting-stick away from him, and forced the marshmallow to catch fire. Aio let out a whimper of protest as the white, sugary goodness turned black.

"You just destroyed a perfectly cooked marshmallow." Aio glared at her, the corners of his mouth pulling into a displeased frown.

Neki lazily pulled the blackened treat from the fire, and stuck it right in front of Aio's face. "I think you secretly want it." She waved the stick around, a victorious grin on her face.

Aio's face twitched to a look of, _'oh really?'_. He smacked it away, and, with a mischievous little grin of his own, he said teasingly, "I think you secretly want _me_." Each word brought him a little bit closer and taller, in some dominant, cowboyish, male chauvinist pig, _'my woman'_ position.

With a huff, the blonde jabbed the stick sharply into his annoyingly close leg before tossing it away. "Who'd want an icky, burnt marshmallow like you?" She spat. Then she froze when she felt Aio's arm lazily drape over her shoulders.

"You woooouuuuld." Aio sang while squeezing her in an anti-gentle manner. Neki gave a violent twitch.

"You're stepping over the line."

"I'm merely repositioning it to a location that best suits my interests and intentions."

Slowly twisting her neck around to face him, Neki made a face at him. "And then proceeded to step right over it." Abruptly, she all but threw his arm off her shoulders, and then started crawling away, muttering words that would turn this story rated M _really_ fast.

"Hey!" Aio shouted to the quickly receding Neki. He continued, with a lecherous smirk on his face, "Did you know that your hair is color-coordinated with my pillow?"

- - -

Axel was casually sprawled out on the couch yet again, writing a sloppy report about a mission he had completed. That's what they had to do—get assigned a mission, carry it out, and then write a synopsis, list what they found, explain why things happened, and then a personal opinion on the entire mission.

The redhead skipped the synopsis to quickly write down his opinion:

_It sucked. Never send me to Carebear Land again._

Just as he spun his pen to form the period, Axel felt thin, icy arms wrap around his shoulders, followed by a little voice saying, "So I was thinking about what you said earlier about Kixen being better than me…" The voice trailed off.

Smirking, Axel twisted around to look at a pondering Xinre, and said, "Actually, I do believe I said that you were better. She's just progressing faster." The brunette's head snapped to look straight at Axel's, their faces inches apart. She replied, "Exactly. I don't want her to progress anymore." Xinre paused to look away. "I've come up with a couple of actions. Solutions, if you will." She looked back at him, her eyes dark, foreboding, evil…

Axel tilted his head to the side, smiling. "You want to kill her."

It was Xinre's turn to smile. She shook her head, a saccharine smile placed gently on her lips. It widened to reveal a dazzling white, candid smile. "I'm not going to kill Kixen." There was another, eerie pause before she continued…

"I'm going to destroy her."

- - -

Light: Where the hell did you go? AGAIN?

Rainy: Huh?

Light: It took you over 3 months to write this chapter. Prolly even longer!

Rainy: Uhm…well…I went to this fun little world called "Procastination Land" and didn't work on the story until I decided to procrastinate later.

Light: …

Rainy: Fear my logic.

Next to write: Light of Heaven!

Please read and review—otherwise we kinda die and it takes longer to write chapters.

YOU GUYS ARE OUR CRACK.


	7. Chapter 7

Kingdom Hearts: Meet Me by the Rosemary

A Light in the Rain production

Neki and Kixen © Light of Heaven and Kitty Fetish

Reni Concept © Kitty Fetish

Reni © Black Rainy

Xinre © Black Rainy

Aio © HappiPanda

Kingdom Hearts Characters and Concept © Square Enix and Disney

Final Fantasy Characters © Square Enix

All rights reserved.

Light: (glare)

Rainy: If I apologized again, would that make it better?

Light: (glaaare)

Rainy: Am I lucky that my chapter was awesome?

Light: (glaaare and nod)

Rainy: Right. Ready to start your chapter?

Light: Actually, I think I'll wait.

Rainy: … Is this your idea of revenge?

Light: I should give you a teaser. (evil cackle)

Rainy: Chapter time.

- - - - -

Riku sighed, glancing up at the pair of feet dangling from the edge of the plank that was situated above his head. He was in the barracks of the castle version of Hook's ship, and the castle version of Neki was refusing to answer any of his questions. It'd been that way since he'd saw her in the hall after his little run in with the creepy looking what's-his-face.

"_That was Vexen." She said from behind him, causing a minor case of whiplash as he spun on his heel to face her, "He's a scientist. Really needs to get laid."_

_Riku grimaced and crossed his arms, "Don't say that."_

"_Why not?"_

"_That's something Neki would say, " Riku defended lamely, huffing and turning away from the look-a-like._

_She smiled playfully at him, "I am Neki."_

She continued to talk her way in circles in a typical Neki fashion, which annoyed him. There should only be one person in the whole entire worlds that can make him feel like an idiot. It didn't matter if there was more than one VERSION of that one person. Just the original was enough to cause a serious headache and severe depression.

He crouched down low and used the balls of his feet to launch himself up, the tips of his fingers catching onto either side of the board, more to the inside than where the Not-Neki sat. Swinging his lower half, the soles of his shoes connected with the wall, and he ran up the wall, managing to scramble up onto the board. He was breathing a little heavier from the sudden exertion, and he flopped down to sit on the plank with Not-Neki.

"What are you?"

She did that playful smile again, "I'm what you make me to be."

Riku mulled that over and came up with, "You're my memory?" Not-Neki dipped her head, "But why haven't I seen anyone else?"

"Do you remember anything people tell you?" she said with an eye roll and a laugh, "You only see memories of darkness. I joined you on that side. Therefore, you see me."

The male blinked a couple of times, "I think that's the most straightforward you've been with me this whole time."

"Sure."

"Neki!" Riku whined, noting the tone in her voice. She was trying to get him away from the subject by giving him something that was of little consequence and therefore distracting him from the bigger picture. It'd worked well up until the point when she started blushing when he got about three inches from her face and asking if that's all she really wanted to tell him.

He contemplated the effectiveness of that for a quick second before throwing that idea out the window. This Neki wasn't like his completely. She knew something, and no amount of flirting was going to get it out of her. Sighing, Riku pulled himself up and turned, stifling a girlish scream when Neki was in front of him leaning against the wall, "WHAT THE HELL?!?"

She just smiled, a tight lipped smile this time that didn't reach her eyes, and turned, her hair billowing behind her from the movement. Riku paused a half-second, then followed Not-Neki as she waltzed through the doorway, "Do you remember what you did wrong here?"

"Here as in this place, or here as in a whole?" Riku asked, scratching the back of his head in a Sora-ish manner. He caught himself and stared at his hand. Maybe he'd spent a little too much time with the short brunette…

Not-Neki spun herself around in a circle, with her arms flown out to the side. Riku took that as a cue to survey the room. They were in Hook's personal cabin, where Kairi had been held when he'd been aboard. It was where he'd used the power of darkness to create a clone of Sora to fight against the real one. Grimacing, Riku remembered the cruel words he'd said to his young friend.

"Crap…" Riku hit his head onto the nearby wall, "I'm a jerk. I'm a jerk. I'm a big fat jerk." Not-Neki wrapped her arms around his torso, and he spun himself around to face her. He had a good few inches on her, which was weird because he could have sworn they used to be almost the same height.

He couldn't help himself as he looked at her and found all the things he'd loved about Neki in this memory. The little scar on her upper lip from when she'd been scratched by a cat, the ring of green along the outside on her honey-golden orbs, the way her nose wrinkled up when the hair in her eyes started to bug her. The way she talked, and smiled, and had him following her without even trying.

She was right. This _was_ his Neki.

"I hate when you do this," he murmured, his voice dropping to a low octave as she bent his head to rest on her shoulder, "You always make me think about things I don't want to."

Her hands came up to cradle his head, and he could hear the smile in her voice, "But if you're not thinking about them, you'll forget. Then how will you know not to do it again?" Riku pulled himself away, gripping her wrists in his hands and tugging her against his body, "I choose to accept both the good and the bad." Her head tilted, golden locks spilling across her shoulder, "Do you?"

Releasing her, he watched as she danced across the length of the room, "I do."

"You don't."

His nose wrinkled in a mild sneer, "What are you, my conscience?"

"Conscience," she repeated, testing the word, "I guess you could say that."

He made his way to her, and she nestled herself into his chest, "Well what does my conscience say?"

"Riku is Riku."

"And we're back to being vague again."

She lifted her head and kissed his nose, causing his head to jerk back in surprise. By the time he realized what was going on, he was staring at nothing, there was no one in his arms, and he was completely lost – in the mental sense. Riku drooped his head, letting his arms hang at his side, "Have I mentioned recently how much I hate this place?"

He could have sworn he heard Neki giggling.

- - - - -

"HEE HEE HEE HEE I SHALL RULE THIS GOD FORSAKEN PLACE YET!" A voice was heard yelling down a corridor, and Lexaeus looked to the door, then back to Zexion for an explanation.

"He has some data on Riku and is going to build some kind of replica of him to use against the key bearer," Zexion said simply, not looking up from his book. The other nodded his head in acknowledgement, then looked at Zexion again, "Yes, we probably should be worried, but it's too much trouble."

Lexaeus shrugged, "I guess if he wants to get his self killed, that's his choice."

"Precisely."

A beat of silence followed that, then Lexaeus cleared his throat. Zexion was difficult to talk to at moments like these, "And what of Sora?"

Zexion sighed, closing his book, and leveling the other member with an even stare, "Namine is reshuffling his memories as we speak. He's soon to be Marluxia's puppet for sure, and I wouldn't trust Larxene either."

"Nor Axel," Lexaeus agreed, "One never knows what he's thinking."

The shorter member raised a brow, "Can he?" Zexion waved away the question, "No bother. We shall observe this a little longer, and then speak with Vexen."

"Vexen hates Marluxia…" the red head stated. The trailed off tone implying the mess that fact would cause.

The blue haired member sighed again, "Hate is an understatement Lexaeus. That's why we must talk to Vexen before things get too far. Better he clean up this mess than us."

"You really are lazy aren't you?"

Zexion opened his book, "I'd watch your mouth oaf." Lexaeus just chuckled and shook his head.

**BOOM!**

Another beat of silence, and then Zexion's voice spoke from behind the book, "I'm not cleaning that…"

- - - - -

Things were getting to become ridiculous when it came to the easy going nature of the people living in Twilight Town. Surely there had to be some end to the madness that was the gelatinous atmosphere that left everything feeling heavy and musty, imprinting the thought "It'd be easy to just lay here." into every adolescent mind.

It was no surprise at all to the blonde that any and all motivation to work on her mission had flown out the window since the first day she'd met the group of individuals she now called her friends. As it was, Hayner was being punished via Olette and Pence for getting a 'Royal Flying F ATTACK!!!' – or so he called it – on their history exam.

Neki and Aio, being a year ahead of them, were currently all that was left of their conglomeration of people. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, except for the minor fact that Neki was due to beat the tar out of the male at any given moment for his earlier comment about how short skirts would make her legs appear longer, which could help with the whole 'short' thing. At the moment she was content to sit on Hayner's "throne" and glare at him while he sat on the couch.

"You know, we could sit here… and you can glare at me," Aio started off slowly, breaking the silence that had been reigning over them since they'd arrived at the usual spot.

"I rather like glaring, but you might want to remember the mood I'm in before you go suggesting something that could result in me wanting to pound your face in with a metal bat." Neki casually threw back, straightening her back and crossing her arms over her chest, which inadvertently brought extra attention to the said region of her body.

Aio made sure to bit his tongue and take a few calming breaths before opening his mouth to continue the sentence he'd left off, "Or we can do something productive on your mission. The King sent you another note last night didn't he?"

"Ah, yeah. But it's a bit… Un-Mickey like. Usually he's very straight forward with me, but this time it was a riddle," the blonde explained, pulling a piece of paper that was folded into squares. She unfolded it, and read the message aloud, "Peace of mind, peace of soul; the home is where the heart is."

The icy blue haired male frowned, his brow drawing down accented by a small wrinkle, "Ara!" He blinked and looked up at Neki, who was pointing at his face with a large grin printed on her features, "You've got a wrinkle!! YOU'RE OLD!" She giggled, rocking back and forth on her butt, one arm holding her stomach and the other slapping her thigh, looking much akin to a laughing comic book character.

This incurred more frowning from Aio, who cleared his throat in an attempt to calm his companion. Once she had finally done so, Aio resumed his thinking pose which had been so rudely interrupted, "Peace of mind, peace of soul… He might mean try calming your self. Oh well shoot. We're screwed."

"YOU KNOW WHAT!" Neki shouted, but stopped short. He had a point. But it wasn't that she couldn't calm down, she was quite capable of doing that should the need arise. No, he was right in that Mickey wanted her to calm down, "Ah, he's a tricky one."

"You solved it?"

Neki bobbed her head and slipped to the ground, making her way to the area rug they'd thrown carelessly on the floor – much like everything else that they'd salvaged for their spot – and seated herself, her legs crossed Indian style, "It isn't too hard. It just takes more thinking than he knows I like to do."

Recalling the breathing technique Aerith had taught her from her younger days of training, Neki slowed her breathing down until the heaving of her chest was all but gone. Aio sat silently, watching her, tensed and ever ready to jump in and save her from whatever she needed to be saved from.

As she detached herself from her physical form, Neki could feel a familiar pull tugging at her heart. The blonde knew better than to fight against it and followed the sensation. The sensation of yearning grew stronger, and she could feel a slight burning sensation on her chest and someone calling her name in worry. _Just a little more_ She begged the voice. She was almost there, so close to the origin of the pull, so close she could feel it. She could hear it; a voice calling a name – her name.

_Neki…_

The darkness behind her lids was set aflame by a bright light, and through that light a hand extended itself to her. The hand belonged to the voice. Neki had to see the voice. As if she were looking through fog, Neki made out the smiling face of a woman, and she could feel a gasp escape her lips.

Her lids snapped open, and the woman's face was replaced with Aio's, "Jeebus Neki, what the heck was that?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Neki snapped back at him, pushing herself off the ground, "Why the hell did you touch me? I was getting somewhere." Aio crossed his arms, huffing and mumbling something under his breath, "What?"

"You lit up like a neon glow stick at a rave," he defended, uncrossing his arms and placing them on her shoulders with an over dramatic protective look on his face, "I was put on this earth to keep you safe." She leveled him with a glare, "Okay! Okay! But my mission is to keep you safe, not just help you."

Neki sighed, and took the hand he offered her to help the blonde to her feet, "Well at least I know I'm getting somewhere. I saw a woman's hand, and she was calling my name. I was about to see her face when you distracted me."

The male nodded, "Then the light that was coming from you must have been your Untouched power."

"I'll have to continue this later when I'm at home and I don't have," she paused to glance at him with a mild glare at him and a light gab to the side with her elbow, "distractions."

"Oh I'm a distraction now?" Aio said, dipping his head lower to hers, "I'm sure I could find more than one way to distract you."

Neki leaned back automatically away from his face, stumbling back a step, "Aio, you remember that line I was telling you about not too long ago?"

"Yeah?"

Her fist came up, the bottom of her palm colliding with his chin painfully sending him flying to the ground, "You were crossing it."

"Why are you so VIOLENT?!" he shouted at her, but she was already on her way back to her house, still thinking about the voice she'd heard in that void of light. It was familiar, and that in itself was setting Neki on edge. As she padded down the street, she heard her footsteps joined by another pair of feet, and she glared back at Aio with malice.

However, the male just shrugged and crossed his arms, "Hey, I've got a mission too after all." Rolling her eyes, Neki opted for ignoring Aio's existence as they headed for her small house across town.

- - - - -

"You know…"

Kixen looked up from her bowl of soup into hungry green eyes – and ones not hungry for her food. Her shoulders tensed on instinct and her upper lip curled up over her canine, "Can I help you Axel? Isn't there something you should be doing in Castle Oblivion and not bothering people here?"

Axel made a show of looking hurt, "And here I was going to take you out for that sea salt ice cream I promised you…"

The rosette paused, her eyebrows drawing down in confusion, causing her the skin between her eyes to crease. With a gloved finger, he smoothed away the wrinkle and brushed his hand down the side of her face until he reached her chin. Her golden orbs fluttered closed at his light touched, and he used his knuckle to bring her chin up some, "Do you not want to come with me?" Her head shook slightly, and he responded with a grin she could hear in his voice, "Good. Get changed into something cute would you?"

When she opened her eyes again he was gone, probably making himself at home on her couch. Kixen was currently in her apartment, getting the feeling from Xinre that the brunette didn't want her around. The girl sighed, pushing herself out of her dining chair and trudging down the hallway to her room. Opening her closet, she rummaged through the clothes she'd acquired through certain unmentionable means until she found a pair of skinny jeans that had holes throughout them, some covered in patches and others not. She paired it with a shirt, threw on her boots over the jeans and went out to find Axel where she expected.

"You not going to wear a jacket?"

"I keep it by the door," Kixen replied, making her way to the coat hanger that hung from the wall. She picked up a black leather jacket and slipped into it, then turned to really look at Axel. He was wearing normal clothes as well, civilians Kixen always called them, "Shall we go? The sooner We do this the sooner I can get you out of my hair."

As if taking that as a challenge, Axel rose to his full height - a good solid few inches taller than her - and stalked over to her, a carnivorous grin on his face. He pushed his body against hers, pinning her to the wall, "Is that so?" His hands came up to tangle themselves in her hair and Kixen had to fight herself to remain standing, "You want me out of your hair?"

Her eyes had closed as soon as he'd pushed her against the wall, and she forced them open to look up into his green orbs. Mustering up whatever she could, she jerked her head in a nod. Axel laughed, the rumbling of his chest shaking her entire form, "Fine. If that's what you want, then let's go and get this over with." He said the last part in a mocking tone and she automatically glared at his back as he retreated into the main hallway.

Kixen stepped out as well and locked up behind her, a force of habit more than anything. She turned back to see Axel chatting up Xinre down the hall. The brunette looked as if she'd been in the middle of taking her trash out and was preoccupied as she tried and failed to get the fiery red head to leave her be. Sighing, Kixen waltzed towards the duo, "Hey, Axel. Aren't you supposed to be taking me to get ice cream?" She tapped the side of her head like he always did, "Get this over with, remember?"

Axel was leaning against the wall, barring Xinre's access to the rest of the hallway. He cut his eyes to the rosette, then back to Xinre, "Yeah, okay. Catch you later Xinre."

The two girl's eyes caught, and a silent conversation was exchanged between the two ending with Xinre huffing and retorting, "I can just take out the trash later."

Kixen raised her hand in a wave, "Later Xin."

The brunette stopped and shot a tight lipped smile in Kixen's directions before disappearing into her apartment. Kixen's brow furrowed at the response, but any further thought of the brunette was squelched when Axel wrapped his arm around her waist and led her into the elevator.

- - - - -

As soon as she heard the door click shut, Xinre threw the garbage bag against the wall and let out a low growl, stalking across the room and throwing herself onto the couch.

Ever since her talk with Axel, just the mere mention of the rosette set Xinre on edge. It was ridiculous that such an idiotic girl was so powerful. Xinre was much more suited to be the stronger one, she actually had brains.

And what was with her powers? She got stronger when she was _angry_? So did every girl ever born. How did that constitute as a power? Honestly, Xinre was so much better; she could control other people and bend them to her will. How handy was that?! Much better than just getting pissy surely.

Then why was it that she was so much stronger, so much better than Xinre? It wasn't fair.

Xinre grabbed one of her couch pillows and hugged it to her chest, "I wonder if my Somebody had to deal with this… Someone so much stronger than them, when they were so much better…" She shook the thought from her head.

It didn't matter, she'd kill both her Somebody and Kixen. Then both her problems would be solved. With Kixen out of the way, she'd be the stronger of the two and there would be no way Xemnas wouldn't see her usefulness, and with her Somebody killed she didn't have to worry about disappearing. It was fool proof.

She would need to get more information about the girl out of Axel before she made any moves though. She didn't want to be careless like Kixen; spouting off moronic ideas like "let's take over the Organization" and "let's free the other rejected Nobodies like us!"

Please.

Like she cared about those other idiots. She only needed herself to succeed. If she was stronger, if she was more useful, why would she need those rejects to help her get ahead? It was because Kixen was so stupid that she needed help.

But Xinre was strong, she didn't need help. She was only using Axel until he was no longer useful to her. After she was done with him, she's dispose of him to and maybe even take his spot in the Organization. She'd be better than Axel anyway. He was helping that traitor Kixen get stronger, so he must be a traitor himself. Xemnas would be so thankful to know that it was her handiwork that got rid of such a despicable creature like Axel from their ranks that he would welcome her with open arms.

Xinre blinked out of her reverie. This was all hypothetical, but there was no reason for her to not be able to right? She was going to get stronger than Kixen, and stronger than Axel and then she could get rid of them both. Oh, and her Somebody. Obviously she'd get rid of them too…

Of course none of that mattered unless she got stronger…

She recalled the conversation with Axel from before.

"_Things can't always go your way, Xinre," Axel said with a smile, his eyes sneaking a glance at Kixen who was busy locking her apartment door, "Remember how your powers work and act on that."_

_Her brows furrowed, "What in the world are you talking about?" Xinre huffed and shifted the garbage bag she held onto, "I've got to get passed."_

"_She can't hear us Xinre, there's no need to play stupid," Axel responded to her obvious subject change, "Just remember that I'm only making you physically stronger."_

Xinre's forehead creased in confusion. She really hadn't understood what he'd said at all. Was she supposed to change herself mentally? Spiritually?? What did he mean by that last part… He could only make her stronger… physically… So was she still going to be weak in other sense?

She bit her thumbnail in thought, knowing that she had to figure this out before her first training session with Axel. She needed to be prepared for whatever he threw at her. She didn't take well to the unknown. It was an unnerving thought not knowing what was going to happen next. If tomorrow would be her last…

Shaking her mahogany locks out, she stood and stalked over to the trash bag she'd previously thrown. She snatched it up and started for the door, sure that the annoyingly tall duo would be on their way by now. Xinre opened the door and peeked out, hearing and seeing nothing.

She let go of her breath in a sigh, then caught herself.

Why was she relieved?

What did she have to be afraid of?

With steeled eyes, Xinre straightened her back, squaring her shoulders; there was no reason to be skittish, no reason to cower because…

"Nothing is outside of my control."

- - - - -

Giggles could be heard from below him, and he looked over the edge into the courtyard of the Third District to see Neki sitting cross legged in the middle, leaning all her weight on one hand and beckoning him closer with the other. Riku rolled his eyes and her innocently happy face, despite the fact that every time he got near her in Traverse Town he was attacks by large hordes of Heartless.

And yet he still came to her every time, "Is this some sort of metaphor for my life or something?" He leaned his forearms onto the ledge with a smirk, "Like, you bring me bad luck?"

"I do no such thing," she retorted simply, her cheeks puffing up indignantly and she turned her head away from him, "It just so happens that you reek so horribly of darkness, and this is where it first stuck to you after all."

Riku's smirk froze itself in place, slowly dropping until it was replaced with a blank, hollow expression; remembering the vicious thoughts of betrayal he'd had about Sora and feelings of abandonment when he'd saw Sora smile so easily with Donald and Goofy.

"You treated me as badly too," a voice from behind him said, and he finally registered that he was staring at an empty courtyard, whipping around to stare into Neki's honey colored orbs, "When you found out I was from Hollow Bastion. It's one of the reason darkness flocks to you."

His brow lined itself with regret when he remembered the fight they'd gotten into when that fact about Neki had been revealed, "What do you mean?"

"You want to monopolize us Riku," Neki said as she touched his face, cupping his cheek in her hand, "You wanted all of us to think only of you, and our group of friends. You thought we were enough, we didn't need anybody else." Her eyes darkened with sadness as she continued, "You rejected the possibility that you can have friends, old and new, and still love them all the same."

Riku closed his eyes, feeling the softness of her hand, opening them when he felt the sensation vanish. Neki looked at him from the courtyard again, and he turned to see her beckoning him towards her again, her hand outstretched in a position he knew well, "Neki," he called to her, "What do you want me to do?"

"Accept."

Leaping over the ledge with ease, he took her hand into his, his other snaking its way around her waist to hold her close - though he knew she could escape if she wanted as she was no more than a memory, easily fleeting away from him, "Accept what?"

They locked eyes, and the smile she only gave to him adorned her features, the gesture making her look much akin to an angel held there with his arms as her willing chains, "Everything."

Everything; the light he'd turned his back on, the darkness he'd embraced, the hurt and pain he'd caused, the good he'd only thought he was fighting for, the friends he'd forsaken. She wanted him to accept all that he'd done while under Maleficent's orders, just like that.

"Everything…" he started simply, blinking and finding her gone, sitting by the fountain in one corner of the courtyard, her feet splashing in the water, "That's a difficult task to ask of me."

"It's a difficult burden to bear as well," she turned her face to look at him, fingers skimming the water, not caring that her arm was being drenched by the spray of the water that fell into the small pool at the bottom, "Is it not?"

He sighed, a long and sad one. She was right of course. The everyday reminders of what he'd done caused him such mental grief that the thought of being okay with it all seemed a blessing. But he wasn't sure he was strong enough to walk the road to the redemption he so desired.

"Riku, you don't have to go alone."

The silver haired male glanced at the blonde from under his lashes, her face serene as she twitched her fingers in a 'come here' gesture, patting the spot next to her with her other hand. Her head tilted to the side and she smiled _his_ smile at him again. Seating himself next to her, he allowed his head to drop to her shoulder, "Don't disappear on me before I take my head up."

"I would never," came her reply, but he could hear the smile in her voice and he knew she'd been thinking about it. Sobering the conversation, she kissed the top of his head sweetly, "You're not alone in this Riku. There are people who are willing to support you. To be with you." Her head removed itself from his, and he guess that she was looking to the sky, but his lids were closed as he listened to her, "Like Reni, the King… And Neki."

At this, his head came up and he looked at her confused, "You?"

"Once you leave this place, I will disappear. I am just a memory after all," Neki replied, giving him a sad smile, "I mean Neki. The one who is real, and tangible and who loves you deeply." His eyes narrowed and he turned his face from hers, "It's true, Riku! I know, because her and I are the same. Even now, her heart yearns for you."

He didn't answer her statement, instead opting to stand and move away from her, "Riku…"

"Then why did you--she… Why did she look at me with those eyes? Why did she tell me that she didn't know?!" He spun on his heels to face her, anger flashing in his eyes. Riku could feel the darkness surge in time with the furious beat of his heart, and he willed his self to calm, "Why did she leave me so willingly after she's followed me through hell and back?"

Anger flashed through golden eyes, replaced quickly with a deadly cold, "You think she did that out of choice?! That she left you because she WANTED to?!" She stood from her spot, stalking over to him and taking his hand in hers, pushing him up against the wall, "Do you even realize the pain she went through when the only option she had was to walk away from you?!"

"_I lost you to the darkness… I can't do that again._"

Riku flinched at the harsh words, his mind flashing back to that moment where she shrugged his shoulder and gave him that pained look, "_I just don't know…_" His eyes narrowed and he pulled the memory's head to his chest.

"So you understand now?"

"Yeah." Riku responded flatly, "I'm an idiot."

He could hear Neki's smile in her words as she wrapped her arms around his waist, "So long as you know."

- - - - -

Reni pulled the group to a stop via falling ungracefully to the ground, splaying her legs out and leaning her weight onto her hands, "I just thought of something…"

Sora huffed and placed a hand on his hip in waiting, and Reni had to bit her lip to stop a comment about his missing masculinity, "Yes?"

"How come I don't remember what's-her-face?" The blonde questioned, her head tilting up to look at Sora. She flicked a strand of hair over her shoulder, "I mean, Neki and I have been with you since Kairi was, and I don't remember this girl…"

The teen frowned, scratching his head, "Well maybe you weren't close to her like Riku and I were. You girls were always off whispering about something."

"Not true!" Reni rebutted, "We _never_ whispered. Neki would have had my neck."

Sora rolled his eyes, "Well what other explanations are there?"

Reni opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself, biting on her lip again as she thought, "I don't know…"

"That's what I thought."

Donald interjected himself into the conversation, "Well have you remembered her name yet?" Sora shook his head, "Maybe you aren't thinking hard enough…?"

"Oh I'm thinking pretty hard as it is…"

"Surprisingly."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Reni shrugged her shoulders lightly with a smile and stood, "Who knows?

"What have you remembered?" Goofy asked, unknowingly bringing the conversation back on task.

Sora heaved a sigh, "Small things… She was quiet, and was always drawing. Even when we went swimming, or were having a battle. Riku and I used to fight about who'd get their picture drawn next." His lips twitched in a smile at the memory.

Reni's, however, dipped down into a frown. A quiet girl who always drew? RIKU fighting to get his picture drawn by her?! Something didn't add up. She sighed as the trio of males talked about how her name would be the next thing to come for sure.

"It's like the black hooded guy said," Jiminy said, popping into the conversation, "Our most precious memories lie deep within the heart, out of reach."

The blonde girl perked up at that, "So his little motto… means that forgetting is the key to remember your true memories?"

The group heaved a shrug in unison.

Donald frowned, "Well then why aren't we remembering something? That's not fair, Sora gets all the action."

Reni blinked, "Oh yeah, I remember something I forgot to ask…" The males turned towards her as Reni brought a finger to her chin in thought, "If Donald has hips, does that mean they don't lie?"

- - - - -

Larxene glanced from the screen showing a confused looking Sora, to Axel, who was adjusting his cloak over his unusual normal-style clothes, "Where were you anyway?"

Axel glanced up from his glove, having been using his teeth to tug the accessory onto his hand, "Huh?"

The female member rolled her eyes, her lip curling in disgust, "You heard me. I know you're not a complete idiot."

Shrugging, Axel finished pulling his glove on, "I don't think that matters. What does is how amazing Sora's heart is and what not."

"Distracted are we?" Larxene interjected, popping her hip and placing her hands in fists on her hip bones, "You seem a little mentally preoccupied. And just where is it that you always run off to?"

Axel's gaze hardened, and Larxene knew she hit the right spot, "What is this? Twenty questions?" Axel replied, his tone jovial and contradicting the murderous intent in his eyes, "It's nothing. Just taking care of some annoying trash that some people have just left lying in the rain and such."

Larxene read between the lines; he met Xinre and Kixen, "Are you disposing of this trash?"

The red head grinning wickedly, "Recycling it."

Loud laughter brought their attention back to the screen showing Sora, Reni, Donald and Goofy enjoying a joke - apparently on the magician's behalf as he didn't look all that pleased.

Larxene turned herself back to the console with a smirk, "It seems Sora's memories have taken root, just as we've planned."

"Then I think it's time or round two," Axel smirked as well, seating himself on the white couch across the room. He covered his mouth with his gloved hand and gave Larxene a knowing stare, "See how far our boy will go, you know?"

She hummed in agreement, "Only if I get to play. You got to have him on the first floor, it's my turn now."

Axel winced at the blonde's awkward wording, "Yes… Well just remember to play nice; we need to deliver him in one piece." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out another of the castle's strange cards, chucking it at Larxene's face with more force than he'd needed to. What could he say, the woman was annoying.

Rolling her eyes, she caught the card Axel threw at her in one swipe, "I'm not daft. That doesn't mean I can't have my fun with him either, now does it." The male responded with a light shrug, but his face said it all - "Don't break him." - Larxene chuckled as she flipped her hood up, "Do I detect a soft spot?"

"He's partly one of us."

She placed her hand on the middle of her chest, fingers splayed, as if she were offended, "As I said, I'm not dumb. I'm just going to play with the toy - it'd be pointless to break it."

He gave her another shrug, "Then you won't mind the warning. Remember, Sora is the key. We'll need him to take down the Organization."

She stiffened slightly, her shoulders squaring themselves as she looked over her shoulder at the seated red head. After a beat she relaxed and brandished her hand, opening a dark portal that would take her to Sora, "So you're in on it too, huh. Then Axel, you'll do well to keep it under your hood until the time is right."

She stepped into the portal and it dispersed behind her. Axel's smirk spread out across his face, his teeth visible between his fingers. It was all going according to plan, "You would have been wise to do the same, Larxene."

Thin arms dropped themselves over his shoulders, fine pink hair trailing off her shoulders and onto his chest. Kixen's face appeared over his right shoulder, her golden orbs a caramelized honey color, "What should we do Axel?"

"Let it play out. Sora will take care of her," his tone was amused and he chuckled lowly to himself. Kixen's eyes went from Axel to the monitors across the room, still showing Sora and his companions. She paused on Reni, taking in the laughing blonde with a knowing pain tugging at the hole where her heart should be. Axel followed her gaze, and as if reading her mind, shook his head, "Xinre's. Not yours."

She stood, "Then I believe our date is over then Axel. Thanks for showing me how a traitor shouldn't act." Placing her hand on his shoulder, she gave a painful squeeze and bent down low next to his ear again, "But next time, the ice cream will suffice." Her hand left his shoulder, and he would have turned, but it would have been pointless. He already knew she was gone.

Axel grinned his trademark vicious smile, "That's right, Kixen. Don't trust me."

- - - - -

Sora and Reni exchanged glances, then both looked towards the magician walking a bit in front of them. Reni grinned, and Sora mimicked it, catching on to the plan within an instant. Sneaking up onto either side of him, the teenage duo screamed loudly into either side of Donald's face, causing the duck to screeched and jump a few feet into the air.

Donald glared at the two - after he took a few calming breaths - and was about to yell at the two when he heard a woman's chuckle that did not come from Reni, "Ha?"

"You…" Reni stated, locking eyes with the fellow blonde female, "You're with Axel, aren't you." She removed the surprise from her face, her expression morphing into that of a glare. The woman looked at her, feigning interest in her.

Larxene gave them an obviously fake round of applause, "My, my, aren't we the clever little one?" She rolled her eyes, taking a few steps towards them. In response, Reni took a step back, "The name is Larxene. Enjoying your stay here in Castle Oblivion? Isn't it just so _refreshing_ to peel away all those unwanted memories… to reach your true memories deep in your heart?"

Reni could have smacked Sora for the obvious way he perked up at her word choice. It was obvious this woman was trying to string him along into a situation that she could easily control, "True memories?"

"That's right," she said with an overkill amount of happiness in her voice. She dropped it to sound more like a pout when she spoke next, "Oh but you're still forgetting something…" Larxene scoffed, "When that poor girl hears you've forgotten her name, well she'll just be so heartbroken…"

Sora took a step forward, too eager to catch the smile on Larxene's lips, "She's here?!"

The older blonde gave him a smile, "Oh yes. She's here alright; the baddies have her deep in the castle, all locked up in a cage and so very alone… How sad." Larxene folded her arms over her chest, "She was so sure that you'd come to save her, and here you've forgotten her name!"

"I haven't forgotten!" The brunette defended lamely, knowing the statement was false, "I just… can't remember."

Larxene made a humming noise in the back of her throat, "There is a catch…"

"What?"

Reni started forward, '_I knew it!_' but she was too slow. Larxene shot forward on the balls of her feet, colliding with Sora and sending him flying backwards to be caught by Reni. The younger girl grunted, but managed to take enough of the force that Sora was unharmed, just slightly dazed.

The older blonde flashed them a wicked grin, her eyes narrowing in glee as she held up the charm that had been dangling from his pants, "I'm a bad guy… So you're going to have to go through me!"

"Sora!" Goofy cried, the two companions running to the boy's side as Reni helped him to his feet, her arm at his elbow in case he stumbled.

Larxene could have hurled.

She swung the charm to and fro, causing the brunette's attention to be drawn to it, "What's that? Is… Is that mine?"

The older woman rolled her eyes, "Oh my god!" She drawled, giving him another glare, "You don't even remember her cheesy-as-hell good luck charm she gave you?!" She scoffed again, "Some friend you are." Larxene blinked, then gave him a look of fake surprise, "But no, that's not right… You've been wearing it this whole time, the memory is engraved into your heart."

At this, Sora's brow furrowed, and she knew she had him where she wanted him, "Who gave to you Sora? Who gave you the charm?"

"Na…Na… Na…"

"What do you have a freaking stutter?!" Larxene snapped, "Who gave you the charm Sora? Don't you remember?!"

"Naaa….min….e?"

Larxene threw her arms up in the air, "HALLELUJAH!" She gave a sigh, "That's right, Namine gave that to you."

She was gone in a blink, and Sora widened his eyes in surprise when he heard her voice behind him, coupled with Reni's shout of concern, "A bit heartless don't you think, forgetting her name and everything… In my opinion, I don't think you deserve her little good luck charm."

He turned his head enough to see the grip on the charm tighten, "Maybe I should just destroy It…" His eyes widened again, and before he could comprehend what he was doing, Sora summoned the key blade, swinging himself around in a circle, the back of the blade connecting with a painful crunch to her side.

The force caused her to drop the charm and grip her side, giving the brunette enough time to rush forward and snatch up the charm, "Don't even think about it!" Sora pulled the charm close to his chest, "Namine gave me this. It's precious to me!"

"Precious?!" Larxene barked, a puff of laughter following the word, "Ten seconds ago you didn't even remember what it was and you have the nerve to call it _precious_?!" A whizzing sound greeted her ear, and her cyan eyes snapped to Reni, her bow drawn and another arrow knocked and ready, "Oh? What's this?"

Reni pulled the string taunt, her blue grey eyes turning a dark steel color, "Don't talk like you know. It's obvious you're so angry because you don't have anything precious of your own, so you toy with other people's precious things to make up for it." The teen let the arrow fly, the tip of the arrowhead nicking Larxene's cheek.

There was a moment of pure unadulterated silence, the nick on the older blonde's cheek opening up and a small trail of blood lining the new hole. Raising a gloved hand, Larxene pushed the pooled blood away from her face, causing the liquid to smear slightly. Her eyes narrowed, seeing only the blonde and forgetting completely that her purpose was to test Sora, "How dare you," Larxene spat, summoning a set of small kunai that she gripped between the spaces of her fingers, "How DARE you!"

"Sora," Reni said, her voice level, "I think I pissed her off…"

The brunette glanced at her, blue eyes locking onto a similar - albeit darker - blue set and the boy grinned, "You never did get along well with other girls."

Reni mimicked the grin, "Good to hear you haven't forgotten anything about me while we've been here."

"Enough chit chat!" Larxene spoke, her voice drawing their attention away from their conversation, "I'm going to rip you to shreds."

- - - - -

"You don't have any soda?"

Neki sighed, glancing into the kitchen where Aio looked back at her from the island, "It's bad for one's body. Why would I want to contaminate it?" Shrugging, Aio went back to the refrigerator, where he'd been until moments before his question and searched the device for something edible that didn't consist of things that were good for his body.

He then realized that all the good food was in her room - which was no man's land for him - and he had to settle on milk before moving back to the island and sitting down, "Because it's good, just not good for you."

"Right," she retorted, her tone telling the male that he needed to shut up.

She closed her eyes again, settling herself into the plush carpet on her living room as she tried to ignore the male's existence. Focusing on her breathing, she felt her chest move up and down with her slow even breathing. A cough from the kitchen interrupted that action, and Neki's eyes snapped open again and focused themselves on Aio's face, "What?"

Aio grinned at her, scuffling his feet and turning his face away from her while he spoke, "I like the view, that's all." She glanced down at the cyan wife beater she wore. She was currently wearing that and a pair of baggy sweats she'd stolen from Riku ages ago sitting in the same position she had been before in the Usual Place.

Her breathing caught in her throat at his remark and she choked on her spit and her head whipped over to glare at him, "Out," she barked,

Aio just turned his head back to face her, smiling at her congenially, "You don't really want that."

"I do," Neki countered with an even stare, "You're a distraction."

"Remember my last retort when you said that? I chose that again," Aio said, his devilish grin still in place as he watched her brow furrow with disgust, "Hey, it's just a suggestion."

She rolled her eyes, "I haven't liked any of the other suggestions you've made aside from working on my mission up until now, so why the hell would I this time?" Neki turned her head towards the front again, but glanced at Aio to make sure he would remain silent. The teen held up his hands in an 'I give up' gesture, which she took as her sign to go on.

Taking a deep breath in, swelling her lungs with oxygen, Neki focused on her heartbeat, using that to time her breaths. As it slowed, so did her breathing until both were nearly nonexistent. The world around her opened up, her other senses heightening to fill the gap left by her lack of vision. She could hear the creak of the chair as Aio shifted in his seat, leaning forward in anticipation for the light from her previous try. The air stilled for a moment, followed by the hair along the back of her neck stiffening as the space around her began to hum with power.

Neki felt her back straighten, strands of hair falling from her shoulder to lay against her back. The humming intensified itself, making Neki wince - though she couldn't be sure if she'd done it physically or mentally.

Then suddenly there was silence, and the darkness behind her lids flashed in a brilliant display of light, dulling to a warm comfortably feeling hue of light blue. There in front of her was the delicate hand belonging to the hauntingly familiar voice that called her name. _Neki…_ The blonde reached her it, fingers splayed as an effort to get even a fraction closer to grasping that hand.

The only thought in Neki's mind was that need in the bottom of her stomach that was clawing its way up to her throat as her fingers came closer to the hand, that became part of a pair of arms that she leaped into whole heartedly without rhyme or reason as to why until a single word left her mouth without even realizing it.

Hands placed themselves on her head in a loving manner, and the weight of the word hit her, causing her to gasp and her lids to snap open and bring her into reality yet again, "Oh my god."

- - - - -

Light: SHIZ BUCKETS! (goes to corner to die)

Rainy: (pats head) There, there, we all have our days like this.

Light: DAYS?!? I was stuck under that block for MONTHS!

Rainy: It happens…

Light: (glare) It better not happen to you.

Rainy: I don't know… You left me with a big pair of shoes to fill.

Light: (scoffs) Whatever.

Rainy: (rolls eyes) Oh well, I'm off to start my chapter then.

Light: (back in EMO corner)

Rainy: (sighs)

Next chapter provided by:

Black Rainy

Don't forget to review!!!


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